The Legend of Radiant Dawn
by SurferSquid
Summary: The tale of how one unicorn schoolteacher, in a kingdom oppressed by darkness and despair, discovered her inner strength and drove back the shadows with the light of happiness and hope.
1. Chapter 1

_For my own students._

"Okay, guys!" Radiant Dawn tapped a hoof to the chalkboard. "Today, we're going to have a history lesson!" The powder-blue unicorn surveyed her classroom full of foals, most of whom looked dubious at the prospect.

One young yellow pegasus pony raised her hoof. "Miss Radiant Dawn, why do we have to learn about history?"

"Because history is important!" Radiant Dawn said, drawing herself up straighter, although there was a teasing smile on her muzzle and a twinkle in her deep blue eyes. "It's by learning from the past that we can make a better future! Plus, there's tons of interesting things in history, like the magic discoveries of Starswirl the Bearded!"

Her students seemed unimpressed.

Radiant Dawn blew a strand of her wavy pink mane, accented with yellow streaks, out of her face, and lowered her eyelids. "And because there's this huge old list of stuff that we have to get through in the curriculum before they let you graduate."

"Yeah, boring stuff," an earth pony said. "How much longer until lunch?"

"Ummm…" Radiant Dawn glanced over at the clock on the wall. "Two more hours. Just work with me here, I'll make this as entertaining as possible." Lowering her head and concentrating, her horn began to glow with white magic. It swirled out of the tip of her horn and curled into shapes and figures that moved along with the willowy unicorn teacher's lesson.

"Long ago," she said, "our kingdom of Daybreak was ruled by King Early Light, who oversaw his subjects with fairness and kindness." The light-figures showed a noble-looking pegasus pony standing tall—and then long tendrils began to writhe toward him. "Unfortunately, the lamia Tanith decided she wanted his kingdom for herself. She attacked Daybreak and challenged Early Light in combat." A monstrous snake-demon rose out of the magic swirls, lashing out at the pegasus who zoomed around her with his knights.

The foals stiffened, entranced by the spectacle, and Radiant Dawn smiled. It was always nice to know that she'd successfully gotten their attention.

"Did King Early Light win?" a unicorn asked, eyes wide.

The pegasus from before shook her head. "If he'da won, he would still be here! Tanith won and that's why she's the queen now!"

Radiant Dawn's smile faded and she nodded somberly, watching as the lamia in her magic pictures defeated the pegasus. "That's right. Tanith crowned herself queen."

"And then what?" a foal asked.

Radiant Dawn sighed and looked over at the flag in the corner of the classroom. It was black with the stylized emblem of two sharp yellow eyes, a reminder that Queen Tanith still ruled them all. The unicorn cleared her throat and looked back to her lesson guide. "Well, no one knows if Early Light escaped, but then Tanith enacted several new tax laws—"

The pegasus filly frowned. "Why doesn't anypony stand up to Tanith?" She clopped a hoof on her desk. "If I was older—I'd march right into her castle and tell her to leave!"

The earth pony rolled his eyes. "Sirocco, you can't just tell Queen Tanith to leave. Her magic is too powerful." His voice lowered. "And my mom says that anypony who's ever tried to fight her gets put in the dungeons."

"I heard she turns ponies to stone!" another foal piped up.

"She's not the one who turns them to stone," somepony else said, "it's her pet serpents! If they look you in the eye—next thing you know, you're part of her statue collection!"

Radiant Dawn noticed that some of her students were looking rather disquieted at this information, so she cleared her throat in an attempt to get her class's attention. "Everything will be okay as long as you don't do anything to get yourselves in trouble," she said in as stern a tone as she could muster. "There's being brave and then there's being foolish." Eying Sirocco in particular, the unicorn added, "Nopony knows how to defeat Queen Tanith, and I don't want any of you to get hurt trying, okay?"

"Yes, Miss Dawn," the foals intoned.

Sirocco's hoof shot up. "Since Queen Tanith is so mean and nasty, why doesn't everypony just leave?"

Radiant Dawn smiled ruefully and pulled out a map of the region. "See this dot? That's Daybreak." With a hoof, she circled the vast, unmarked area around it. "And these are the Sierra Pinto Mountains. It's all wilderness for miles and miles... and I hear all sorts of things live in those woods, like manticores and timberwolves."

"I bet I could take 'em," Sirocco grumbled.

An earth pony craned his neck to look out one of the classroom windows. "Is it true that there used to be fields and forests in Daybreak instead of all these factories? My granny says her granny told her that things used to be different."

Radiant Dawn nodded. "One of the first things Queen Tanith did in her rule was have the ponies construct all of these factories and tall buildings." With a sigh, she dispelled her magic and moved to the window, looking up at a sky blanketed with an ugly brown haze that kept the day forever cloudy and dim. "But you know, past all this smog, the sun still shines. Somewhere up there."

"We'll never get to see the sun," an earth pony groaned, slumping over his desk. "I asked my dad once and he said it was useless to even think about it. We're all just going to work in factories for our entire lives."

Radiant Dawn frowned. "I don't think that's true. The sun's got to shine through someday."

"My mom says Princess Celestia's forgotten about us," somepony else chimed in.

"Some princess she is," another foal grumbled.

Radiant Dawn cleared her throat again. "Princess Celestia is a very busy alicorn, overseeing the motions of the sun and the moon… and Queen Tanith is very powerful. I'm sure Celestia would help us if she could, but for whatever reason, she just can't right now." She smiled. "So until then, it's our job to hang on to what we've got and find the good in every day!"

One of the earth ponies looked under his desk. "I can't find it."

His teacher laughed. "See, just like that! Keep a sense of humor and you can't go wrong. Find the beauty in everything, appreciate the friendships you have, and always keep hoping for a better tomorrow. Things will improve, I'm sure of it."

Scirocco wrinkled her snout. "How do you know? Can you see the future?"

"I can't," Radiant Dawn said. "But I feel it in here." She placed a hoof over her heart. "So I know it's true. And—"

A sharp rap at the classroom door interrupted her thoughts. Before Radiant Dawn could respond, the door jerked open and the head of an older mare with a graying mane poked through. The mare narrowed her eyes with a scowl as she surveyed the class. "Miss Dawn," she said, "I trust everything here is going according to procedure."

Radiant Dawn shuffled timidly, ears pinned back. "We were in the middle of our history lesson, Principal Decorum."

"Well, don't take up too much time," Principal Decorum snapped. "This school year is on a strict schedule and the budget's tighter than ever. Queen Tanith could have this place audited any day, and if we lose our accreditation due to substandard student performance…" She glowered at the teacher. "There will be penalties."

"Yes, ma'am," Radiant Dawn said. Nopony wanted to get on Principal Decorum's bad side. The pegasus ran Daybreak School with an iron hoof, and had no patience for those who did not conform to her idea of the way things should be run.

Scirocco turned around in her seat. "Don't worry, Principal Decorum! Miss Dawn was using her magic to illustrate history for us!"

The principal's eyes widened at the younger mare. "Miss Dawn, that is not an approved teaching method! We are a school, not a cartoon studio!"

"I'm sorry," said Radiant Dawn, hanging her head.

"I'm beginning to re-think hiring you," Principal Decorum said. "Perhaps teaching isn't your thing." A sneer worked its way up her lips. "I mean, you don't have the cutie mark for it. Oh wait—you don't have a cutie mark at all."

Radiant Dawn cringed and glanced over at her hind legs. It was true—she was a blank flank. She didn't know why. She was well over the age where most other ponies received their cutie marks, and although there were things she enjoyed and was good at, none of them seemed to be her calling in life—her own extra special talent.

Principal Decorum lifted her head with a smug grin. "Well, I'll leave you to contemplate that on your own time. Right now, you're on the clock, and if there's one thing I can't tolerate, it's irresponsibility. Return to your lesson." She backed out and closed the door.

Radiant Dawn sighed and shook her head, magically shuffling her notes to try to get her mind off of what had just happened. Life would be so much less stressful without Principal Decorum breathing down her neck. But it was either this, or go to work at the factories. At least at the school, teaching these foals, Radiant Dawn knew she was making a difference in other ponies' lives, no matter how small.

"Miss Dawn?" The unicorn looked up to see the blond pegasus standing beside her. "We don't care that you're a blank flank," the young filly said. "You're the best teacher we've ever had."

That, Radiant Dawn decided, made all of this worth it. Feeling tears well up in her eyes, she wrapped the filly in a tight hug. "Thanks, Sirocco. I love you guys." At least somepony liked her, she thought.

Breaking away, she patted Sirocco on the head and the filly trotted back to her seat. Radiant Dawn turned back to the chalkboard, trying to compose her thoughts. That mare's vitriol always rattled the unicorn, although she tried not to show it to her foals. "Okay, where were we—is it time for math—" she muttered to herself as she began to sketch diagrams on the slate.

"Miss Dawn," a foal said, "history hour's not over yet."

Radiant Dawn glanced at the clock. "Oh—" With a sheepish grin, she erased the drawings. "Sorry, everypony. Um, where did we leave off?"

"Queen Tanith being a big bully," Sirocco grumbled, and the other students murmured in agreement.

Radiant Dawn had just found her place in her lesson guide again, and she gave Sirocco a distracted chuckle. "Right. So like I was saying, there were several tax laws laid down, and Daybreak began to export goods to enemies of Equestria…"

An earth pony raised her hoof. "Miss Dawn, do the magic again! The lessons aren't as boring then!"

Radiant Dawn hesitated, pawing the floor with one hoof. "I… I shouldn't, I'm sorry. Principal Decorum wants this place run in a certain way… and we shouldn't cross her. Just bear with me through the rest of this lesson, then we'll get through math and then you can go eat lunch."

The foals looked at each other, then nodded their reluctant agreement. Their teacher turned to the chalkboard, using her magic only to lift the chalk to write facts and figures as she lectured. She wanted so badly to do things her way, but more than that she feared breaking the rules. If she was to have any place in this society besides the palace dungeons, she would just have to swallow her pride and obey her superiors.

But that didn't mean she had to adopt their outlook on life, or spread it to the next generation. She utterly refused to stamp out that part of her that wanted to keep promoting happiness.

As the unicorn continued listing all the ways Tanith oppressed ponies, her pupils did not look terribly interested, but Radiant Dawn hadn't written this lesson—it was part of the required curriculum under Tanith's rule. Pausing at the end of a list of legislations, she looked out at these young subjects of a tyrant. Radiant Dawn wanted and needed to be strong for them. Even though something had gone very wrong in the kingdom of Daybreak, they could not lose hope—or else they would turn into ponies like Principal Decorum.


	2. Chapter 2

Radiant Dawn preferred to eat lunch in her classroom. The rest of the faculty was not much more pleasant than Principal Decorum, and mostly sat around complaining about one thing or another—usually their students. Radiant Dawn could never figure out why ponies who seemed to hate foals so much taught at a school, but she was determined to at least make her classroom a safe haven for both her pupils and herself.

But sometimes she did have to venture out to the cafeteria to procure hot water for her instant soup, so she tried to make the most of it. She said hello to the foals in the hallways and let the janitor know how shiny the floors looked, which earned her a small smile from the aging stallion. He was the only adult in the school who did not seem to find her kindness intolerable.

On this particular outing, Radiant Dawn also stopped to help a colt a few years older than her own class pick up his books outside his locker. "Are you heading to lunch, Euclid?" she asked the young silver-coated unicorn.

He pushed his glasses up his snout. "Yeah… my stuff just got messed up by some bullies again."

Radiant Dawn frowned. "I'm sorry. Hang in there. You're the bigger pony."

Euclid regarded his own spindly stature. "Well, figuratively speaking."

The mare tried to repress a grin. "You know what I mean. Come and get me if you run into any more trouble, okay?"

"I'll try," he said as she started back down the hall.

"Good," Radiant Dawn said. "Don't give up."

As she rounded the corner, however, her hopeful smile drooped. Although she hated to admit it, she was tired of only being able to tell foals to "hang in there" and "don't give up". She wished so badly there was more she could do for them. But she was only a blank flank unicorn, stuck in a kingdom ruled by a tyrannical queen. Radiant Dawn wanted to believe that things could get better somehow—she was just having trouble seeing how.

But at least she had lunch to look forward to. Even if fresh food was hard to come by, instant foods from some of the factories could taste reasonable, and Radiant Dawn had brought her favorite flavor of instant soup today. As she stood in line in the cafeteria, waiting to fill the cup with hot water, her eyes wandered to the brown sky above them. If she was a pegasus, she thought, perhaps she could blow away all of that nasty smog and let the sun shine down on everypony. Then their spirits would be lifted.

But no, Tanith had put explicit bans on any cloud-kicking by pegasi. That was a fast ticket to the dungeons.

The sound of a tumble, and then Principal Decorum shouting, "Watch where you're going!" snapped Radiant Dawn back to reality. Her ears flicked toward the source of the noise, her eyes followed, and what she saw made her frown.

The principal and Euclid had collided, once again scattering the poor colt's books and papers everywhere. Now Decorum was glowering at Euclid as he tried to pick up his things. "You clumsy foal!" the older pony snapped. "Do you have an ounce of sense?!"

"I'm s-sorry," Euclid stammered, trying to gather his homework as other ponies watched impassively—or just ignored him. "It won't happen again—"

"Do you think I'm just going to take your word for it, you delinquent?" Principal Decorum said, putting a hoof on one of his papers so the colt couldn't retrieve it. "I'm giving you a week's suspension. Maybe that will make you get with the program."

Euclid's eyes widened in shock, and Radiant Dawn's eyes narrowed. Decorum was infamous for her harsh punishments, but this was the first time Radiant Dawn had ever seen the principal deal one out. The thought of standing there and letting Euclid take it just felt so wrong. Decorum's snide tone from that morning flashed through Radiant Dawn's memory, and the unicorn cringed thinking about that mare's temper turned on her.

But better her than Euclid, she decided. Somepony had to say something, and it might as well be her.

It was almost her turn for water, but Radiant Dawn didn't care anymore. Passing her cup to the foal behind her in line, she cantered over to the principal and Euclid. "D-don't you think that's much too harsh?" she asked, putting a foreleg around the colt's shoulders. "All he did was bump into you, and I'm sure it was an accident."

"Who makes the rules here, Miss Dawn?" Principal Decorum asked. "Me, or you?"

Here it came, Radiant Dawn thought. She glanced down at the scared student and her determination solidified like steel. She would not back down now—never mind the rules, somepony needed her help. "You can't use that as an excuse to push other people around," Radiant Dawn said. "You're just as bad as Queen Tanith if you do that."

Decorum snorted and pawed at the ground with one hoof. "How dare you talk back to your superior!"

Radiant Dawn stood her ground. "You've forgotten what all of this is about. We're supposed to help foals grow, not terrorize them into obedience." Her grip on Euclid tightened protectively. "They all deserve to be happy."

"Happy?" Decorum spat. " _Happy?_ How do you have the gall to talk about happiness? There's nothing for these foals to look forward to but drudgery and disappointment! I'm just trying to prepare them for the real world!"

The unicorn's eyes widened. "That's not true!" she found herself saying. "They can be happy despite their circumstances—and it's our responsibility to help them, not make things worse! Someone has to give them hope! The world is what you make of it, and I say we should try to make it a better place!"

Out of the corners of her eyes, Radiant Dawn saw a bright flash, and Decorum and Euclid both jumped. At first Radiant Dawn thought someone was using magic behind her, and then she realized that everypony was staring at her. She followed their eyes to her flank, and her heart leaped as her jaw dropped. In a shimmer of magic, a symbol was forming, that of a yellow sunrise casting its rays across her blue coat.

Her very own cutie mark. It was here, it was hers, and it was beautiful, even if she didn't quite understand what it stood for.

Decorum staggered back, her expression a strange mix of shock and rage. "Get—get out!" she neighed. "Get out of my school this instant, and don't ever come back!"

Radiant Dawn's elation was shattered. "Wh-what?!"

"You're fired!" Principal Decorum shouted. "Now leave! Before I call the police!"

Euclid looked up at the teacher in confusion, a look Radiant Dawn returned. "Go on home, Euclid," she said. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"You can't tell him what to do!" Decorum said. Her ears were low and her eyes wide—Radiant Dawn had never seen her so completely upset.

But although her own life had just been crumbled before her eyes, Radiant Dawn would not abandon somepony who needed her. Still reeling emotionally, she nudged Euclid toward the doors and staggered after him. Reaching the hallway, she looked back at Principal Decorum. "And you can't tell _me_ what to do anymore." She didn't stay to hear the principal's response, but firing off that parting remark felt good. Perhaps, Radiant Dawn thought, it would get Decorum to rethink some things.

The teacher stopped by the classroom to pick up her saddlebag and personal effects, no longer hungry for lunch. On her way out, she saw the janitor again, and when he gave her a concerned look, all she could do was shake her head and continue on.

Outside the school, a dreary world awaited her. Apartment buildings and factories rose around her, and ponies and carriages streamed down the narrow streets, heads held low. There was nothing to look up at, Radiant Dawn thought. Nothing to look forward to. Her stomach twisted at the idea of becoming like them, but the only thing that brought her joy in life had been maliciously taken from her. How could she possibly cope now?

"Miss Dawn?" She looked over to see Euclid descending the school steps, his saddlebags packed full.

"Go on home, Euclid," Radiant Dawn said. "I'll be all right." She was struggling to convince herself of that.

The colt regarded her skeptically. "Are you sure?"

Clenching her jaw, Radiant Dawn nodded. "I don't want you to get caught up in all that drama. I'm sorry you got suspended." She glanced over her shoulder at the drab edifice of education. "You don't have to go back, you know."

"Sure I do," Euclid said. "It's the rules."

"I know," Radiant Dawn said. She reached up and rubbed her face with her hoof in frustration. " I don't think all rules were made equal." But here they were, stuck in a world where rules were made by those who abused power. And those who tried to make it otherwise were turned to stone—or fired from their jobs. It was a vicious lose-lose situation.

For far too long, she had feared breaking the rules. Now she knew that if her heart was telling her one thing while an unjust authority told her another, she knew which one she had to follow. Despite the consequences, at least in her soul she would know she had done the right thing. And that mattered more to her than anypony's anger.

"Don't give up, Miss Dawn," Euclid said. "I mean… you got your cutie mark, so there's that."

Radiant Dawn glanced back at her flank. "Some cutie mark… I have no idea what special talent it represents. It can't be literal—I'm no Princess Celestia, and I certainly didn't make the sun come out." She smirked. "I hope my talent isn't getting yelled at. That would be disappointing."

Euclid managed a chuckle. "I hope not, either. I'll walk with you for a little bit, okay?"

"I would like that." As shattered as her world had become, it brought the slightest bit of cheer to Radiant Dawn to know that somepony seemed affected by what she was trying to bring to their life.

As they turned a corner, something thick and black slithered their way, and both ponies paused. Other ponies on the street moved aside to let through a large black snake as it undulated across the pavement. As it passed Radiant Dawn and Euclid, it flicked out its forked tongue, hissing softly, but its golden eyes were focused on the road ahead.

Both ponies let out a sigh of relief when it was gone. Tanith's serpents regularly patrolled the streets, and although they didn't have the intelligence to act as a police force – so the job fell to ponies – the snakes could be nasty when aggravated, and it did not take much to set them off. One glare from them right in the eyes, and a pony would be stone before they knew it.

Eventually, the two ponies reached the street where Euclid lived, a drab row of apartment buildings. "Do you want me to come with you?" Radiant Dawn asked as the colt started toward his apartment. "I'm worried your parents might be angry with you."

Euclid paused and looked back at her, then shook his head. "My parents are at work right now. I'll deal with them when they get home. You've already done enough—you don't need to get caught up in this. Take care, okay?"

Radiant Dawn nodded, although she still watched to make sure Euclid got to the door of his apartment building. Then she plodded on, feeling more and more exhausted and drained as she went.

Her own street looked much like Euclid's, crammed with nondescript apartment blocks that one could only really tell apart by the street number outside. But Radiant Dawn had walked to and from her building every day for years, so for her, finding it was no problem. Not that that did anything to make her feel better. She trudged inside and up the endless flights of stairs to her apartment.

She would have to get a factory job, she realized as she opened the door to her own personal space. She had tried her hardest to make the tiny flat as homey and comfortable as possible, given the meager selection of goods one could buy in Daybreak. But now it just seemed quiet and sad, as though it knew that if she didn't find another job, she would have to give up her home.

It was either that, Radiant Dawn thought as she made her way to the kitchenette, or move back in with her parents. The mare frowned at the thought. She had moved out for a reason—her family was every bit as critical and negative as Principal Decorum. Here was her safe place, her happy place. And now it would have to be her sanctuary from a job she loathed.

As Radiant Dawn opened a package of instant soup and put a kettle of water on to boil, her eyes welled up with tears. How could this happen to her? She was just trying hard every day to do the right thing, to try her hardest to help foals and create at least the tiniest bit of light in a world that seemed to have forgotten what light was. Now she had finally stood up to a bully, and this was her reward.

Her eyes wandered to the window, where she watched the ever-present layer of smog hang over the kingdom. The chilling fear crept over her that maybe she was wrong. Maybe Principal Decorum was right. Maybe happiness was just a denial of reality—

Radiant Dawn drew in a sharp breath. She refused to believe it. It didn't feel right in her heart, it made her feel all shriveled and dead inside. That couldn't be right. Besides, she had somehow gotten her cutie mark trying to argue that her way of seeing things was correct, so that had to mean something good.

Unless her special talent was arguing. By Starswirl's beard, she hoped not. She hated arguing.

The whistle of the kettle snapped her out of her thoughts, and she used her magic to pour the water into the cup of soup. Levitating a spoon out of its drawer, Radiant Dawn retreated to her couch and pulled the throw blanket over herself, waiting for her soup to cool and wondering if her emotions would ever settle down, too.

A pounding at the door made the unicorn jump, her ears flicking up and swiveling toward the noise. Setting her lunch and the blanket aside, she reached the door in time for a second round of knocking, which sounded even more desperate.

Now Radiant Dawn began to worry that someone needed her help. Swiftly, she unlocked the door with her magic and pulled it open—and on the other side stood two police officers, a mare and a stallion. Their faces were grave.

Radiant Dawn's stomach plummeted. Had something happened to her family, or her students?

"Miss Radiant Dawn?" the earth pony stallion asked. When she nodded, he said, "You're under arrest for possession of an illegal cutie mark."


	3. Chapter 3

Radiant Dawn blinked, not sure she had heard the officer correctly. " _What?_ "

He cleared his throat. "Your cutie mark is of a class deemed unacceptable by Queen Tanith and marks you as a menace to society. Please come quietly."

If Radiant Dawn's stomach had dropped before, she was pretty sure now it was in the basement of the building. "I—why?" she stammered, looking to the policemare, another unicorn.

The mare cringed, unable to meet the erstwhile schoolteacher's pleading gaze. "We don't make the laws, we just enforce them. I'm sorry."

"Isn't there some other way?" Radiant Dawn asked. As bad as her day was before, being fired paled in comparison to the prospect of getting sent straight to Queen Tanith's dungeons—possibly after being petrified.

The policemare held her breath. "Well—"

"What are you doing?" the stallion hissed. "Do you want us to get sent to the dungeons, too? How am I going to explain that to my wife and foals?"

His partner looked up at him. "Miss Radiant Dawn teaches my colt at school, and she's the only teacher he's ever had that he's actually liked. I can't do this to her." She looked back to the other unicorn. "You've got ten minutes. Start running."

Radiant Dawn's muzzle wrinkled in confusion. "Run where?"

"The woods!" the policemare said, pushing her out the door. "Go!"

"But nopony's ever come back from the woods!" Radiant Dawn said, stumbling toward the stairwell.

"Nopony's ever come back from the dungeons, either!" the stallion neighed. "Do you think you'll have better chances there?"

He had a point, Radiant Dawn thought. She scrambled down the first flight of stairs and then paused, trying to piece together some sort of coherent instruction in her mind. "Take—take care of my students for me!" she called to the police officers.

"We will!" the mare said. "Now go!"

And Radiant Dawn knew she had to, no matter how hard it was. She could not stay here anymore, and it was either take her chances with the mountains' unknowns, or face a very certain future that she knew she did not want. Steeling herself, she ran down the rest of the stairs and galloped into the street, not caring how many heads she turned.

One such head was that of a serpent. It rose up from its coils to meet her, hissing fiercely as its eyes began to glow.

"Leave me alone!" Radiant Dawn whinnied. From the tip of her horn she fired a blast of magic that sent the snake reeling, and she dashed away.

Her hooves flew over the pavement as she raced like an arrow past apartments and businesses and the towering factories that churned out an eternally brown sky. She knew if she kept running, she would run out of street eventually.

Cries of alarm from bystanders and a fierce hissing alerted her to two more serpents speeding toward her. Tossing her head, she kicked one away and hit another with magic, and kept galloping. She was tired of cowing to them—it was about time someone showed some spunk around here.

She did not run into any more patrolling serpents as the mass of buildings petered out into wider-spaced areas, where grass ventured to grow and streets had ends. There, looming up in front of her, were the mountains, rising well above the smog, carpeted in thick old trees.

Radiant Dawn kept going. She let the adrenaline fuel her as her hooves left pavement and touched down on dirt and grass, creating pleasing thuds instead of harsh clops. The trees seemed to reach for her with their gnarled limbs and she galloped into their embrace. Daybreak could offer her nothing but despair and doom, and Radiant Dawn wanted to be more than the latest statue in Queen Tanith's collection. If the hope she so desperately clung to was leading her into these woods, she would keep on believing in it.

Finally, her exhaustion won out over her nerves and Radiant Dawn slowed to a walk. She didn't know how far into the forest she had gotten, but when she looked behind her she could not see anything of Daybreak.

She heaved a sigh and realized the air smelled a little better. There must not have been so much smog up here, she thought, and she smiled. Maybe the mountains weren't so bad—maybe nopony came back because it was just so much better than Daybreak. Besides, if she kept walking, she knew eventually she would come across another city. She knew from looking at maps that Las Pegasus was the closest large city, although it might still take several weeks to walk there, especially through this terrain.

"I probably should have read more about wilderness survival skills," Radiant Dawn muttered to herself as she looked up and around at this strange new world she had found herself in. "Hopefully I can get by with my magic."

She stopped to slake her thirst at a stream and take a breather, and for a while she just rested, trying to process everything that had happened in that chaotic day. The thought of never seeing her home or her students again saddened her deeply, but she knew that returning to Daybreak was a bad idea. She had to keep moving forward, even though she had no idea what was out there.

Eventually she got back on the move, and she realized that part of the reason she was so tired was because she was steadily climbing to a higher elevation. It was difficult to tell because the slope was so gradual, but when she reached a ridge devoid of trees, she was able to look back at the green swath below her and see how far she had come.

"Still not very far," she said to herself, biting the inside of her cheek. "I suppose that's to be expected, since I'm moving uphill. But any progress is good progress, I say."

At least she was above the smog now. The sun shone clear and bright, far brighter than she had ever imagined. Closing her eyes, Radiant Dawn took a minute to soak in the sunshine, feeling it warm her back as the breeze tousled her mane and tail. If only her foals could experience this.

The thought of them made her swallow hard. She had to find someone who could help. Maybe once she got to Las Pegasus, she could catch a train to Canterlot and speak with Princess Celestia herself. Perhaps then the princess would know of the trouble Daybreak was in.

"Yes, that's what I'll do," Radiant Dawn said. She nodded firmly, turned, and kept going.

The sun was sinking lower into the west now, and eventually the light streaming through the trees was dyed golden and then a deep orange. Radiant Dawn knew she had to find a place to sleep for the night. She also had to make a fire, as she did not fancy sleeping in the dark when there very well could be manticores around. Not to mention, the temperature was dropping.

It took her a while, but she finally found a suitably-sized space, and she cleared the ground of flammable debris before collecting sticks for a fire. That was something she did not have to worry about, as with a few sparks of magic from her horn she had a small flame going. She tended it carefully until it grew into a steady blaze, and then she settled down next to it, folding her legs beneath herself and tucking her muzzle close to her body.

The snaps and crackles of the fire were the soundtrack to her thoughts as she looked up at the dark trees, so thick that she could barely see the night sky past them. She had never seen stars before, but the forest was so dense that only a few points of light twinkled through.

Still, it was enough to awe the pony as her eyes drifted shut. Tomorrow would be a new day, she reminded herself as she breathed in the sweet scent of pine mingled with the tang of smoke. She might not have had much, but at least she still had tomorrow.

"Wake up."

Radiant Dawn jolted awake. A voice like a forgotten dream teased at the edges of her memory. She wasn't sure now if it really was a voice, or a noise or just a feeling, but her eyes snapped open and she lifted her head.

The fire had burned down to glowing embers now, still giving off enough heat to ward away the chill night air. But it wasn't the only source of light in the darkness.

On the other side of the embers stood a regal-looking gray pegasus. He shimmered slightly as though he was not all there, and he cast an unearthly glow on the ground below him, his long mane and tail billowing in a nonexistent breeze. And he stared directly at Radiant Dawn, with eyes that were tired and sad.

She realized she was looking at a ghost. Drawing in a sharp breath, the unicorn leaped to her feet, adrenaline surging.

Then several sets of glowing eyes appeared in the undergrowth.

Out of the bushes stalked a pack of timberwolves, eyes aglow. Heads low and jagged teeth bared, they stared down the unicorn and let out a round of growls, the wooden rattle echoing menacingly in their throats.

With a whinny, Radiant Dawn let out a blinding flash of light from her horn, turned, and bolted from her campsite. She only had so much time before the timberwolves recovered from their daze. As she stumbled through a cold stream, horn lighting the way before her, howls echoed off the trees. The chase was on.

The unicorn wished she had been born a pegasus as she staggered over the uneven terrain of the thick old forest, so unlike the steady streets of Daybreak. She struggled over rocks and slid down steep banks, and all the while the timberwolves grew closer.

She didn't want it to end like this. This was not what she had held out hope for. But she was out of options. Legs wobbling, Radiant Dawn backed against the trunk of an enormous pine tree, holding her head low and feeding more magic into her horn as she faced the approaching timberwolves. She at least wanted to use every last ounce of fight in her.

Suddenly, from behind her zoomed two streaks of color, one in shades of yellow and the other pale blue. They wound ribbons of light around the timberwolves, knocking the creatures off of their paws and disorienting them.

"Get on the lift!" someone shouted from above. Beside her, a wooden platform dropped, suspended from thick ropes.

Radiant Dawn didn't think to ask questions at this point, and she scrambled onto the lift, grabbing one of the ropes between her teeth. Just as soon as she did, it lurched and began to rise.

Below her, the timberwolves snarled and snapped their fangs, but they could no longer reach her. Radiant Dawn collapsed, exhausted. She had no idea where she was going as the lift climbed higher and higher, but at this point she figured anything would be better than ending up as timberwolf lunch.

She gazed out into the trees, but could see only darkness. The ghost hadn't followed her. A shiver ran up her spine. Had it summoned the timberwolves?

The streaks returned from the depths of the forest, soaring through the air and then slowing down to alight on the lift as well. Now that they weren't moving, Radiant Dawn could see that they were pegasi, a sunburst-yellow mare and a dark blue stallion.

"Okay," the stallion said, "that should throw off those timberwolves for a while."

"Are you okay?" the mare asked Radiant Dawn.

The unicorn nodded. "Y-yes… thank you for saving me."

"No problem," the mare said. "Did you escape from Daybreak, too?"

Radiant Dawn's eyes widened. "Yes—I did. I was almost arrested for having an illegal cutie mark, of all the ridiculous things."

"So were we!" the stallion said. He and the mare turned to the side to show her their cutie marks. They were similar, both showing a pair of bright arcs and flares around a circle, but the mare's was orange while the stallion's was white. "My name's Moondog," he said, "and this is my twin sister, Sundance."

"It's nice to meet you both," Radiant Dawn said. "My name is Radiant Dawn. I just got my cutie mark today—" She pointed her nose to her own flank. "But I have no idea how I got it or what it means. All I know is that it got me fired from my job, and then the next thing I know, the police are knocking at my door!"

She froze as she strung together the series of events. Her cutie mark seemed to have made Principal Decorum livid. Decorum disliked Radiant Dawn and would do anything to keep order, and keep the school in Queen Tanith's good graces. Could Decorum have alerted the police to Radiant Dawn's cutie mark?

The unicorn frowned. It was an assumption too easy to make, but she couldn't prove it. And getting mad at Decorum wouldn't fix anything—it would just make Radiant Dawn as bitter and hateful as the principal. What was done, was done, and Radiant Dawn wanted to believe that there was a reason all of this had happened.

"You okay?" Sundance asked.

Radiant Dawn snapped out of her thoughts to see the two pegasi watching her, and chuckled sheepishly. "Yes, sorry. I was just trying to work through some things… it's been a long day."

"Same thing happened to us," Moondog said. "Well, when we were a little younger, and at school."

"We discovered we could do some cool stuff with our weather magic," Sundance said, "and then bam! Expelled from school and the police were after us!"

Radiant Dawn sighed. "I'm kind of relieved to know I'm not the only pony this has happened to… but on another level, it's the sort of thing I do wish never happened to anypony else. Sometimes I wonder if Queen Tanith just makes up ways for ponies to break the law so she can put more of them in the dungeons." She looked up into the trees and saw platforms and bridges networking through the branches, lit by torches. "Who else is here?"

"Oh, a bunch of other ponies," Sundance said. "They all had the same thing happen to them."

Moondog nodded. "They either manage to make their way into the Sierra Pinto Mountains… or they end up in the dungeons at Daybreak Castle." The lift finally slowed to a stop at the end of a platform, and the pegasus ponies hopped off. "Thanks, Scooper Duper," Moondog said to a mint-green earth pony with a wavy dark brown mane who had been operating the pulley.

"We've got a new one," Sundance said, tossing her chin at Radiant Dawn.

The unicorn picked herself up and moved to the platform. "Hello, it's nice to meet you… Scooper Duper, was it?"

The earth pony nodded. "One and the same," he said. "Hope you're not hurt, miss. Those timberwolves looked mighty fierce."

"I'm okay—thanks for dropping the lift," Radiant Dawn said. "My name is Radiant Dawn. How long have you all been out here?" she asked, looking around at the rest of the complex. It spanned the trunks of a thick grove of towering pines, like the ultimate treehouse. While some platforms seemed to be mainly walkways, others were covered in roofs of woven branches, and looked like they were used as storage and living areas.

"Some longer than others," Scooper Duper said. "I s'pose Borealis has been here the longest, so she's the leader of sorts. We all work together to gather food and keep this place safe."

"Speaking of Borealis," Sundance said, "we should take Radiant Dawn to see her." She wrinkled her nose and glanced over at the unicorn. "No offense, but 'Radiant Dawn' is kind of a mouthful. Mind if I call you Ray for short?"

Radiant Dawn smiled. "I don't mind." She rather liked that nickname. It made her think of a ray of sunshine.

Or a ray of hope.

The three outlaw ponies escorted Radiant Dawn through the treetop sanctuary, introducing her to other ponies as they went. As the unicorn met each pony whose cutie mark had been deemed illegal by Queen Tanith's ruling, she scrutinized them and their cutie mark, trying to figure out why they had been banned.

There did not seem to be any clear pattern that Radiant Dawn could discern. At first she thought each fugitive pony's talent might have something to do with atmospheric and celestial phenomena, since both Sundance and Moondog were out here. But that didn't explain Scooper Duper, whose special talent was apparently making amazingly delicious ice cream, or most of the other ponies whose talents had nothing to do with the sky. There were songwriters and painters, confectioners and dancers, talents from all over the board. And it didn't help that Radiant Dawn still had no idea what talent her own cutie mark symbolized.

By the time the four ponies reached a large central platform, Radiant Dawn was still stumped. But she decided to mentally file the problem away for later, as she saw an older pegasus mare sitting with a group of other ponies, weaving mats out of supple bark.

Sundance cleared her throat. "Borealis?"

The ponies paused and the mare looked up at them. Her coat was a dark indigo, while her mane and tail were bright green with red streaks, and they seemed to shimmer as she moved. Her ice-blue eyes rested on Radiant Dawn and she scrutinized the unicorn. "So another one's made it out," she said gravely. "Welcome to our haven, young mare."

"Thank you," Radiant Dawn said with a dip of her head. "I'm Radiant Dawn. It's nice to meet you, Borealis."

"Same," Borealis said. "Make yourself at home—in the morning, we'll find something for you to do."

Radiant Dawn nodded. "Pardon me, but—do you know why all of our cutie marks were banned?"

The pegasus stood up to face her and sighed. "Nopony has any idea. Queen Tanith doesn't really need a reason for what she does." Her eyes narrowed with hatred toward the tyrant. "If she didn't need ponies to work her factories, I'm sure everypony in Daybreak would be petrified."

Radiant Dawn's gaze lowered. She had made it out, but there were still so many stuck in Daybreak, subject to the cruel whims of its unjust queen. She would hate for any of them to incur Tanith's wrath, even Radiant Dawn's family who she did not exactly enjoy being around. And her students—

She looked back up at Borealis. "I don't suppose there's any going back, is there?"

The pegasus regarded her for a moment, one ear flicking. "No. If you return to Daybreak, the police or Tanith's serpents will catch you. I'm sorry, but this will be your home from now on."

Radiant Dawn's stomach clenched. Her beloved students would never see her again. Nopony was left to give them any sort of happiness in their day. They would all be shuffled off to other teachers, and Radiant Dawn knew she was the kindest teacher at the school.

Something hot and uncomfortable bubbled up within her, a sheer rage and anguish at how terrible the situation was, not just for her but for everypony her life touched. She had been stolen from them when they needed her, and it was something she could not tolerate.

"You okay, Ray?" Scooper Duper asked.

Radiant Dawn blinked and looked over at the earth pony. "What?"

"You look sick," Moondog said.

"I'm…" Radiant Dawn shook her head with a frown. "I'm upset," she admitted. "I don't appreciate having my life taken away from me like this."

Borealis let out a dry laugh. "Yes, but it wasn't much of a life to begin with, was it? At least out here we're free."

Radiant Dawn's brow furrowed. "I taught foals. I was the only one who was kind to them. They need me."

The pegasus's expression grew somber again. "I'm sorry," she said. "But there's nothing you can do. There's nothing anypony can do."

A look around at the other ponies' faces told Radiant Dawn they all felt the same way, and she took a step back, hanging her head. Being stuck here, unable to do what she felt she needed to do and help others, was just as bad as imprisonment, Radiant Dawn felt.

"C'mon, let's get you a bed," Sundance said, putting a hoof around Radiant Dawn's shoulders as she, her brother, and Scooper Duper led the unicorn away.

"Mm-hm," Radiant Dawn said, letting her hooves drag.

"It won't be so bad," Moondog said. "I'm sorry you don't get to see your foals anymore, but being stuck in the dungeons would be worse, right? At least you're not petrified."

Radiant Dawn nodded. She at least had that going for her. And she didn't believe that nopony could do anything about their situation, or about Queen Tanith. Her foals needed her, and she was going to find a way to get back to them and help them. She had no idea how, or when, but she never wanted to give up hope.


	4. Chapter 4

The other three ponies led Radiant Dawn to a vacant platform, which was supplied with a handmade roof to keep out the rain and a small cot of dried grass. They offered to show her around the rest of the complex, but she declined, as she was mentally and physically exhausted from the events of the day.

"Do you need to talk?" Sundance asked.

"I think I just need some rest," Radiant Dawn said. "Thank you for giving me a place to stay."

"We'll come get you in the morning," Scooper Duper said. "Hope you feel better, Ray."

"Thank you," Radiant Dawn said, lying down on the cot and watching them leave. She closed her eyes. She did wish she had someone to talk to, but none of these ponies seemed to understand. She knew they meant well, but she felt if she started to spill out her feelings to them, they would just kindly try to convince her that she was wrong. And she knew in her heart that she wasn't wrong for feeling like things could and should change.

Although it felt like she had closed her eyes only for a moment, when she awoke to the voices of her acquaintances, morning had settled over the forest and the torches had been extinguished.

"Rise and shine!" Sundance said, jumping around the platform. "The sun's out and it's a brand new day!"

"You don't have to be so loud about it," Moondog moaned. He rubbed his tired eyes with one hoof, looking like he was still half-asleep.

"Are you all right?" Radiant Dawn asked.

The pegasus pony nodded. "I'm not a morning pony, that's all."

His sister giggled. "That, and you were up super late last night watching the meteor shower Bolide put on. I'm surprised you ever come to breakfast!"

Moondog stuck out his tongue. "At least I'm not the one who's ready to go to bed the minute the sun sets!"

Scooper Duper watched them with an amused grin. "So Ray, how's Daybreak doin'?"

"The same as it was when you left, I suppose," Radiant Dawn said. "Things don't really change there. The factories are still going and you still can't see the sky." She smiled wistfully. "But the foals are still as cute as ever."

Scooper Duper chuckled. "It's been years since I left. I've got a little brother who was still a foal the last time I saw him. He's gotta be a stallion by now."

"And our parents are probably still at their jobs at the factory," Sundance said. "They manufacture climate-control gadgets for buildings in Daybreak, and that get shipped off to who-knows-where." She laughed. "I guess that's all pegasi are good for in Tanith's eyes."

Radiant Dawn shook her head. "Speaking of pegasi… um… have any of you ever seen a ghost in the woods?"

Sundance and Moondog paused in the air in front of a bridge, and Scooper Duper stopped as well. "You saw him, too?" Moondog asked.

The unicorn nodded. "Right before the timberwolves attacked me."

"Yikes, Ray," Scooper Duper said. "Some ponies have all the bad luck. Timberwolves _and_ the forest ghost… and you've lived to tell the tale!"

Radiant Dawn's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Other ponies here have seen the forest ghost," Sundance said, perching on the bridge's rope guardrail. "We have no idea who he is or what he wants—but some ponies have said that wherever he shows up, calamity follows."

"Which means he's a bad omen," Moondog said. "If you ever see him again, you'd probably be best off turning and galloping the other way."

"Oh my," Radiant Dawn said.

Scooper Duper shook his head. "Hey now, you're scarin' the poor mare. You'll be all right, miss. The forest ghost doesn't pop up that often, and if he does, well, you just keep your distance from him and you'll be fine. No worries."

Radiant Dawn nodded. "Thank you. I'll do my best to keep safe."

"Okay, enough ghost stories," Sundance said, turning a somersault on the rope. "I'm starving! C'mon, Ray, we're nearly to the commons platforms!"

As Radiant Dawn followed the other ponies to the spaces where ponies worked and ate together, her eyes were drawn down to the forest floor. While it was dizzying to look at, especially when crossing bridges, she wondered if she would see a gray glow among the trees again. The thought still sent a chill through her. Maybe she would not have to encounter the phantom again.

But the unicorn found that she did not really want to fully invest in the other ponies' fear yet. The look on the ghost's face had not been malicious or ominous. He seemed almost pleading. Radiant Dawn wanted to keep thinking positively, even about something spooky. Still, ghosts were harder to keep on one's mind in the daytime, especially when one's stomach was rumbling.

Finally they reached a large platform where a number of ponies sat on woven-bark mats, nibbling from bowls of food. "Take a seat and eat up," Scooper Duper said. "The foraging team keeps this place well-stocked."

"Thank you," Radiant Dawn said as the four ponies made their way to an empty space. The bowls there were full of nuts, fruit, and vegetables—not exactly lavish, but there was enough to go around.

Afterward, Radiant Dawn reported to Borealis for an assignment. Most of the other unicorns worked in crafting and repair, but Scooper Duper made a special request for Radiant Dawn to join the foraging team, which consisted mainly of earth ponies. Borealis agreed to this, and Scooper Duper took the unicorn to meet the rest of the team for orientation.

"You'll love it," he said. "Jester's the team leader, and his jokes always make the time fly. His special talent's stand-up comedy, apparently."

Radiant Dawn's first day on the job mostly consisted of learning what was edible, what grew where, and how to harvest things. The foragers would scour the mountains during the day and return with their bounty at sunset, before most of the less pleasant things in the woods came out.

Thankfully, the ponies could roam freely without fear of timberwolves—a fugitive unicorn, whose special talent was crafting metal jewelry, had created a set of iron bells for each forager to wear. They made a cacophonous clanging as a pony moved, and timberwolves apparently couldn't stand the sound and would keep their distance.

By the time the sun began to sink, Radiant Dawn was exhausted, but she had managed to help Scooper Duper harvest some acorns that would roast up nicely.

"You did great today," he said as they stood on a lift, waiting to be hoisted back up to their treetop sanctuary.

The unicorn smiled wearily. "Thanks. I appreciate all of your help."

"You'll like it here," Scooper Duper said. "Sometimes Daybreak just seems like a bad dream nowadays, y'know?"

The smile on Radiant Dawn's muzzle froze, and she nodded noncommittally. "I'm—glad we're safe here," she said. Clearing her throat, she looked aside and pretended to be busy sorting her acorns. She could not just forget about Daybreak, not when ponies she cared about were still there. And she missed her apartment, and the happy times she had shared with her foals, their smiling faces looking up at her—

"Welcome back, guys!" Sundance said as she operated the crank. "Long day, huh? Did you bring back any good grub?"

Radiant Dawn put a smile back on her face. "Do acorns sound all right?"

"They'll do," Sundance said with a grin. "Too bad Scooper Duper can't harvest us up some ice cream."

"I'm not the only pony whose special talent is making food," Scooper Duper said as he hopped off of the lift. "Why don't you ask Brown Betty to bake you some cobbler?"

Sundance rubbed her stomach. "Oh man, don't remind me about cobbler! It's been years!" She pointed to another earth pony, rose-pink with a leaf-green mane, getting off the lift. "Fondant, did you find any cake out there?"

Fondant rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "You ask me that every day, and the answer's always the same. I'll let you know when I discover the legendary cake tree." She grinned. "And then I can decorate just like the old days!" She nodded to her cutie mark, a swirl of icing being pumped out of a tube.

For dinner, they roasted the acorns, and as the ponies ate they chatted about their day and discussed various chores to be done around the complex. Radiant Dawn was still trying to swallow everything that had been happening to her lately, so she remained silent and listened to the others' conversations.

Sundance reached out to a passing pony. "Hey Cotterpin, I noticed the winch on the southeast lift felt a little loose today. You might want to take a look at it."

Cotterpin, a white unicorn with a golden mane and tail and a wind-up key for a cutie mark, nodded. "Thanks, Sundance! I'll check it out after dinner."

"She's a toymaker," Sundance said to Radiant Dawn as Cotterpin clopped away. "At least, that's her special talent. But since there's not really any need for toys out here, she makes herself busy as a tinkerer. She's the one who designed the lift system."

Scooper Duper looked up from his bowl of acorns. "I remember before she came out here—pegasi had to carry other ponies in and out of the trees! It was a mighty big relief to get those lifts installed, I tell you."

"I can imagine," Radiant Dawn said with a faint smile. Her thoughts were still elsewhere—back in Daybreak. She had to figure out some way to help the ponies who were still there. She could not abide the idea of keeping herself safe while others were left to suffer. Her entire life had been about helping others find light in the darkness, and she couldn't stand the idea of having that taken away from her.

"Ray?" Moondog asked.

She looked up at the other ponies and chuckled weakly. "Sorry, I'm not being very good company right now."

"Are you still upset?" Sundance asked. "I think I know something that'll cheer you up." She glanced over at her brother, who grinned, and then looked back to the unicorn. "Can we show you after dinner?"

Radiant Dawn looked at the other three ponies. She really wanted to just say no, go back to her platform, and shut out the world while she tried to process her emotions and think of some way to fix the situation.

But something about going along with Sundance felt right, and Radiant Dawn wanted to never ignore her intuition, no matter how irrational it might seem. "Okay," she said with a nod, trying to sound enthusiastic.

Once they finished eating and had taken care of their dishes, Moondog said, "Scooper Duper, can you show her to the east lookout? We'll meet you there!" He and his sister pushed off into the air and zoomed away.

"Sure thing!" the earth pony said. "This way, Ray!" He trotted off toward a set of stairs that wound up a tree trunk. "You won't wanna miss this!"

Despite her funk, Radiant Dawn was genuinely curious about what they wanted to show her, and the anticipation lightened her mood a bit as she followed Scooper Duper up to a higher level in the complex. Here there were fewer platforms and more networks of bridges, stretching across the canopy of pines. Above them, stars glimmered in the darkening sky, and a nearly full moon had cleared the horizon.

Radiant Dawn stopped for a moment to take it all in. "Wow… this is beautiful," she said. "I didn't know the sky was going to be this lovely."

Scooper Duper grinned. "Yup, you sure don't get a view like this in Daybreak. I'd say this is loads better than that smelly ol' city."

Finally, they reached an observation platform near the top of a tall pine. It looked out over a river that ran through the mountains, cutting a gap in the thick forest. Above them rose the steep, snowcapped peaks of the Sierra Pinto range. In another direction, far away on the horizon, Radiant Dawn could see a dark, brownish haze that glowed with the reflection of lamplight from thousands of lanterns.

That was Daybreak, she realized. It bothered her that these fugitive ponies lived where they would be constantly reminded of what other ponies were going through, and they chose to ignore the problem. She could not just forget about the ponies in Daybreak like everypony else here seemed to. It wasn't fair to those still under Queen Tanith's rule. Someone had to help them, and if she could find a way, she would do it herself.

"There you guys are!" Sundance said. She soared around the tree and landed on the platform next to them, letting out a big yawn. "Anybody else tired? I guess this what happens when you're an early riser. Unlike my brother, who's a total night owl." She jabbed a hoof at Moondog, who was doing acrobatics in midair.

The pegasus pony finished a flip, and then swooped in closer to the others. "Hey Ray, ready for your surprise?"

"Go for it!" Radiant Dawn said. Just being able to see the sky and the beautiful mountain vista had energized her. It was like nature itself was cheering her on, wanting her to find a way to share its glory with others.

Moondog grinned. "Here goes!" In a ribbon of pale blue light, he raced into the sky, hurtling toward the moon. As he neared the celestial sphere from the line of sight of the platform, he spread out his wings and sailed across the face of the moon. A ring of light began to appear around it, flanked on either side by two bright spots like gems.

Radiant Dawn's eyes widened. "Wow! That's amazing!"

"Isn't it!" Sundance said, stomping her hooves in applause. "I can do the same thing with the sun! That's our special talent!"

"That makes sense," Radiant Dawn said, now understanding what the twins' cutie marks represented. She looked back up at the gleaming circle that seemed to frame the Mare in the Moon. "So what does it do?" she asked. "Does the ring help Princess Celestia move the sun and moon?"

Moondog drifted back down to the platform and alit next to his sister. "They don't really do anything," he said. "But they're sure pretty to look at."

"They always put a smile on my face," Sundance said. "I think some things just exist to be beautiful. I guess—I guess they exist to make ponies happy."

Radiant Dawn smiled. "What a nice idea, having a special talent that creates happiness—" She froze. In a flash of insight, a thought struck her with the force of a raging dragon. "By Starswirl's beard," she breathed.

"What?" Scooper Duper asked.

The unicorn whipped around to face the earth pony. "I get it now! Don't you see?! No, of course not—it's not obvious at all, but it must be true!"

Scooper Duper took a few steps back, and the pegasus twins looked just as confused. "What are you talking about?" Sundance asked.

Radiant Dawn lowered her head. "Your cutie marks – all of your cutie marks – were banned because you make ponies happy."

Sundance and Moondog looked at each other. "Ray," Moondog said, "that seems pretty vague."

"No, think about it!" Radiant Dawn said. "Everypony here, everypony that I've met, has a special talent that has to do exclusively with happiness for its own sake! Sundance and Moondog, you create atmospheric effects that serve no purpose except to look beautiful!" She looked at the earth pony of the group, who seemed to regard the unicorn as if she had gone mad. "Scooper Duper, you make ice cream, which isn't necessary in terms of nutrition but tastes amazing!"

"I… hadn't really thought of it like that," Scooper Duper said, scratching the back of his head with one hoof.

Radiant Dawn began pacing around the platform. "Jester's a stand-up comic—Birthday Bash loves planning birthday parties and making everypony feel special on their birthday—and he somehow manages to remember everypony's birthday—"

"Borealis creates auroras!" Moondog said. "I've seen her on cold nights, flying through the air, creating these drop-dead gorgeous curtains of color in the sky! They don't really _do_ anything—" He put a hoof to his heart. "But they're so amazing, I just get this warm feeling right here whenever I watch them."

Radiant Dawn stopped and stared at him. "We have to talk to Borealis, right now. I think we've made a breakthrough." Without waiting for any of them to answer, she took off down the stairs.

"Ray, are you sure?" Sundance asked, she and her brother flying to catch up with her. "I mean, it's a good guess, but… I'm just not seeing how it's going to help anything."

"But at least I figured something out!" Radiant Dawn said, galloping across a platform. "It's better than nothing!"

After a bit of asking around, she found Borealis on one of the common platforms, helping some other ponies organize provisions for storage. "Borealis, ma'am!" Radiant Dawn said, galloping toward her.

The older mare's ears swiveled back. "What is it, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong!" Radiant Dawn said with a grin. "In fact, something's finally right!"

"Oh?" Borealis looked at her and her three companions in confusion.

"Hear me out," Radiant Dawn said. "All of the ponies here have something in common—I mean, their special talents do. They're all used to create happiness!"

Borealis raised an eyebrow. "And…?"

Radiant Dawn hesitated. "Well… it seems to me that if that's the reason our cutie marks are illegal, there must be something Queen Tanith doesn't like about ponies being happy… right?"

The leader of the fugitives was silent for a moment, and then she said, "Isn't it possible that Queen Tanith is just a monster who hates seeing ponies happy? You may be reading too much into this."

Radiant Dawn's smile faltered. "Maybe, but… what if this is the key to stopping her?"

The pegasus's expression suddenly hardened. "And how, exactly, would happiness stop a lamia?"

Sundance scratched one foreleg. "Yeah, Ray… I mean, what am I supposed to do, march in there and make a pretty ring around the sun that'll make her ooh and aah?" She frowned. "Oh wait, I can't—you can't see the sun in Daybreak."

"But perhaps there is some—" Radiant Dawn started to say.

"None of our talents are useful!" another pony piped up.

A pony nearby said, "If all they do is make ponies happy, what good would that do us in taking back a kingdom?"

Radiant Dawn's ears drooped. "I… don't know…"

Borealis turned to look at the unicorn sidewise. "Besides, you have no idea what your own special talent is. Perhaps you should work on discovering that before telling other ponies what to do with theirs."

The younger mare hung her head. "Well, I just—"

"I don't want to hear it," Borealis said in a rather harsh tone. "We've got important work to do to keep this place safe and running, so don't waste your energy on speculation."

"Yes, ma'am," Radiant Dawn said. She turned and plodded away. It felt like the past two days had been crammed full of broken hopes and lost dreams, and here was one more to add to the pile.

She heard hoofbeats beside her, but didn't bother to look up. "Ray?" Sundance said. "It'll be okay. We have a good life here."

"We're sorry about your foals," Moondog said, "but at least you got out, right?"

When Radiant Dawn didn't answer, Sundance said, "Don't take it personally. Borealis is a good leader who keeps us all organized, but she cracks down hard on ponies who… uh… say kinda weird things."

"No offense," Moondog added. "But your idea does seem a little… out of left field. I mean, Birthday Bash got the same reaction when he told Borealis we should have a team dedicated to party planning… yeeeaaah. That didn't go over well."

Scooper Duper paused and scratched the wood of the platform absently with his hoof. "And, um—it might have to do with how Borealis got out here."

Radiant Dawn turned to look at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, from what I heard—" The earth pony cleared his throat. "She was part of an underground resistance movement in Daybreak. The rebels wanted to storm the castle, and they thought they might be able to use Borealis's aurorae as a distraction. Turns out serpents are color-blind, so that plan crashed and burned. Borealis was the only pony who escaped."

Sundance whistled. "Well, that explains why she's such a stick-in-the-mud."

Radiant Dawn nodded. While it did make Borealis's reaction more understandable, it still annoyed the unicorn that everypony dismissed her epiphany. "I'm sorry that happened to her," she said. "But I really think I've found the key to defeating Tanith, to getting our lives back."

The other three ponies looked at each other hesitantly. Moondog said, "I'm sorry, Ray, but I'm just not seeing it. Okay, so maybe special talents that have to do with happiness are outlawed in Daybreak. But it's a big jump to say that they could be dangerous to Tanith."

"You'd be hard-pressed to call any of our talents dangerous," Scooper Duper said with a sigh. "We're not warriors, or magicians, or practical sorts. We're—confectioners and toymakers and artists." His tone was filled with a sudden disdain, and from the looks on the pegasus twins' faces, they were thinking the same thing.

"But—" Radiant Dawn snapped her muzzle closed, holding her tongue. She felt like the more she tried to argue, the worse things got. It burned her up inside, but it seemed that nopony was going to take her seriously.

"What?" Sundance asked.

The unicorn turned and plodded away from them. "Never mind." She knew making a connection between everypony's cutie marks was not exactly a concrete battle plan, but she felt like it was an important inroad to a solution, and if everypony put their heads together they surely could think of something. But nopony wanted a solution. Despite having escaped from Daybreak, it seemed they were still affected by the defeatist attitudes of the ponies who lived there.

Scooper Duper trotted after her. "Aw, c'mon, Ray! It's not so bad—"

Radiant Dawn stopped. "I need some time alone, please," she said, trying her hardest to keep her irritation in check. Nopony could understand her priorities or give just the slightest bit of faith in her ideas. And they wanted her to just ignore the entire thing and try to fit in with them. Of course, nopony wanted to hear her squawking about how she was right and they were all wrong. Maybe it was best if she just kept her muzzle shut from now on.

The three other ponies seemed to finally get the hint, as they paused a few steps behind her. "Okay then," Moondog said quietly. "See you tomorrow, Ray."

"See you," Radiant Dawn said. She didn't want to force them to agree with her—she just wanted them to not automatically dismiss her ideas as idiotic and useless. When she first met these fugitive ponies, she had hoped that their situation would make them more open to seeing things in new ways, but that did not seem to be the case.

When she finally made it back to her bed, she curled up beneath her roughly-woven blanket and shut her eyes. Her area was far enough away from the rest of the complex that she could no longer hear any other ponies, and she was grateful for that. Insects chirped and buzzed in the forest below her, and somewhere in the distance an owl hooted.

There had to be something to happiness, Radiant Dawn thought. She clenched her eyes shut and buried her muzzle into the cot. Was she wrong? Was everything she thought she believed in just a delusion?

"Mm-mm," she grunted, clenching her teeth. She hadn't given up when she lived in Daybreak, and she couldn't now. Her pupils still needed her, even if they were separated for the time being. And she had to listen to her inner voice. If that meant nopony else believed in her, then she would just have to be strong on her own. Despite how ludicrous it may have seemed to the others, Radiant Dawn disliked the alternative: becoming hopeless and cynical and resigned to her fate.

She didn't know how, and she didn't know when, but she would unravel the mysteries of happiness and rescue Daybreak.


	5. Chapter 5

For the next few weeks, Radiant Dawn made herself useful as part of Scooper Duper's foraging team. She tried her hardest to keep a stiff upper lip, being cordial to the other ponies and not mentioning anything more about Daybreak, her foals, or the strange connection between Queen Tanith and ponies who spread happiness. She would have to keep looking for answers on her own.

But she did find things to enjoy about life in the Sierra Pinto Mountains. The woods were great fun to explore, for one. On her daily outings, Radiant Dawn discovered hidden meadows, towering waterfalls, quiet caves, and breathtaking views.

And when she returned to the treetop complex, Radiant Dawn would get to enjoy Sundance's and Moondog's atmospheric shows. Sometimes Borealis would even create an aurora for everypony. And Jester did, indeed, tell the best jokes.

But Radiant Dawn never forgot what she needed to do, and every day she hoped she would discover the opportunity she had been looking for.

One cloudy afternoon, nearly a month since she had escaped Daybreak, she decided to explore a mountain that she had not yet been to, but often saw from a distance and wondered what was up there. Iron bells clanging merrily against her saddlebags, she ventured deeper into the woods, breathing in the clean air and greeting all of the birds and other creatures along her way.

Suddenly a chill breeze whipped through the air, sending up a spray of dead leaves. Radiant Dawn turned aside to shield her face—and when she looked back, a tall gray pegasus pony stood silently in her path.

The unicorn's eyes widened and she took a halting step back. This was the same pony she had seen her first night out of Daybreak. The night the timberwolves attacked.

Just as before, the forest ghost stared at her with sad, tired eyes, motionless except for the ethereal wafting of his mane and tail. All was quiet in the forest, as though the animals themselves had retreated in his presence.

Radiant Dawn had half hoped to never see him again. Her heart pounded in her ears as she recalled everything the other ponies had said about him. Was he really a bad omen? He _had_ appeared right before the timberwolves ambushed her.

But why should she believe everything those ponies told her? They also thought their talents were useless, and that it was better to stay in isolation in the wilderness than dare to find a solution. They ran away from what scared them, and Radiant Dawn thought that might just make things worse.

So despite the knot in her stomach, she stood her ground. "Wh-who are you?" she asked shakily. "What do you want?"

The pegasus ghost regarded her silently for another moment—and then he turned and ran up a steep bank. At the crest of the ridge, he paused and looked back at the unicorn with a penetrating stare, and then disappeared over the other side.

Taking a deep breath, Radiant Dawn leaped and scrambled up the bank after him, bells clanging harshly. At least she would not have to worry about timberwolves this time around, she thought as she crested the ridge.

Beyond her, a gray glow moved among the trees and she charged after it. The ghost moved strangely, barely touching the ground, and his galloping pace was slower than he actually moved, as though he ran in a slow-motion dream. While he never let Radiant Dawn catch up with him, she did manage to keep him in her sights as the forest floor sloped steeply upward and the unicorn's stride turned into more of a climb.

Her heart pounded in her chest and her legs ached, but she would not give up. Perhaps, just like Daybreak, no one else had ever helped this phantom, and it was about time somepony did.

The trees thinned, and she emerged into an alpine meadow that stretched up one face of the mighty mountain. Wildflowers danced in the breeze, and a few last stands of pines reached toward the sky, which now seemed so close, especially on this cloudy day.

Further up the mountainside, the ghost stood near a pile of enormous rocks, still watching Radiant Dawn, still waiting. As she neared him, the unicorn realized the rocks were the entrance to a cave. Again, a twinge of doubt ran through her. What if he was leading her into danger? Would this be like the night the timberwolves nearly got her?

As those harrowing memories ran through her mind again, a new thought occurred to her. "You… you woke me up to warn me about the timberwolves," she panted as she plodded toward the cave. "I wouldn't have seen them coming if it wasn't for you. And you've done the same for the other ponies, warning them of danger." She smiled. "Thank you. I'm sorry we've been seeing it wrong this whole time."

The ghost's eyes widened, and his ears stood up. As though he did not know what to say, he turned and dashed into the cave, his glow quickly engulfed in shadows.

Radiant Dawn looked at the mouth of the cavern for a moment. Even though she needed to be cautious about falling since she was not a pegasus, she at least did not have to worry about light. The tip of her horn flared brightly as she ducked into the darkness.

As she stepped past stalagmites and crept beneath a sleeping colony of bats, Radiant Dawn began to notice peculiar things about this cave. There were scorch marks on the stone floors, and remnants of charred wood arranged in clumps. Pieces of what looked like rusty metal were scattered about, as well as moth-eaten cloth.

"Someone lived here," she whispered to herself. She tossed her head around, but could see no sign of the ghost.

Turning a corner, Radiant Dawn moved down a narrow, twining passageway. "Is this the way I'm supposed to go?" she asked aloud. For an answer, she received only the echo of her own voice.

Finally she found herself face-to-face with a nondescript wall. "Should I have gone the other way?" she asked again. Still no answer.

Radiant Dawn scanned the area, not wanting to miss out on anything, just in case. As her gaze reached the ground, she stopped. Something lay there, vaguely rectangular, covered in dust and cobwebs, nearly the same gray color as the stone around it.

Radiant Dawn reached out with a hoof and brushed away some of the dust. It was a book, or possibly a journal, thin and leather-bound.

Sitting down, she carefully picked the book up and began to read it. She didn't get farther than the first page before her jaw dropped.

" _The record of King Early Light_ ," she read aloud, her voice trembling. " _I, King Early Light, write this record with my own hoof. Daybreak has been taken, and I am its king no longer_."

As Radiant Dawn read further, she became engrossed in the history of her kingdom, not daring to skim any of it even though it was quite lengthy. Evidently Early Light had had quite a bit of time for writing.

The first part of the record described Early Light's life and reign, and how Daybreak had been a beautiful place of peace and harmony, under Princess Celestia's good graces. There was quite a bit about the king's royal line, the history of the kingdom, and various other minutiae that would mostly be interesting to a historian, but did not contain anything Radiant Dawn found useful in her situation.

Then, Early Light described how Tanith and her army of serpents had come out of the mountains and invaded Daybreak. The king and his army had tried to fight back, but succumbed to the serpents' petrifying glares. Early Light and Tanith ultimately faced off in single combat, but the lamia overpowered the pegasus and Early Light barely managed to escape. He fled to the mountains, and that was where the record ended.

Radiant Dawn felt a strange mix of emotions as she neared the end of the hefty book. It was good to know history from King Early Light's perspective, but she had really been hoping that she could use his record of his battle against Queen Tanith to try to pinpoint a weakness in the lamia, or even test her theory about happiness somehow being the key.

As King Early Light wrapped up his record with elaborate farewells to Equestria, Radiant Dawn turned the page, not expecting to find much else of use.

Instead of the next page being blank, however, it contained more writing, this time scribbled a little more roughly as though it had been written some time later. The overall tone of the writing was different as well, more informal and even a bit hasty.

" _I'm not much longer for this world_ ," it said, " _but as I seem to have a bit of time left, I shall use it wisely. I don't know if this record will ever be read by anyone else, but I feel the pressing need to pass on my knowledge in the hopes that somepony someday will find it._

" _I defeated a lamia yesterday. Not Tanith, but one of her lesser kindred. He ambushed me in the forest, but despite my failing years I am still a warrior, and I was able to overpower him. He begged for mercy and said he would grant me whatever I wanted if I let him go. I demanded to know how to counter lamia magic._

" _Thanks to him,_ _I now know Tanith's weakness. I know why we were unable to defeat her. We despaired. Faced with her terror and might, my knights and I let fear overtake us. During the siege we forgot all of the happy things in the world, and all I could think of was how unfortunate we were and what would happen if we lost. As I did so, losing seemed more and more likely, until it happened._

" _But I'm not just talking about the power of positive thinking. Tanith feeds on ponies' despair. Hope and happiness weaken her magic, and ponies whose special talents instill happiness are particularly effective at dispelling a lamia's dark spells. If you ever find yourself up against a lamia, whatever you do, cling to hope and remember the things that make you happy. I may sound to you like a sentimental foal, but I speak truth_.

" _I know my days are short and I am not nearly the stallion I used to be, but as long as I still draw breath I still have a chance to take back my kingdom. My hope is renewed, but I am not sure my tired body feels the same as my heart. I go now, to make the trek back to Daybreak, to fight my way to my palace and oust that overgrown snake from the throne that is rightfully mine. Many years too late, perhaps, but better late than never._

 _If you are reading this journal, it means I have failed. Do not repeat my mistakes._ "

Radiant Dawn's hooves trembled. She leaned her head back against the cave wall and heaved a huge sigh.

She knew what to do. She was going to defeat Queen Tanith and finish what King Early Light had started.

Gingerly levitating the journal with her magic and putting it in an empty saddlebag, Radiant Dawn made her way back out of the passage and into the main cavern. Standing there was the ghost, still watching her.

"Thank you," he said to Radiant Dawn.

The unicorn nodded. "I won't let you down, sire."

As the spirit faded away, the faintest hint of a smile graced his face. Radiant Dawn smiled back.

Tossing her head, she leaped out of the cave and galloped out of the meadow. The sun was on the other side of the sky now, its light just starting to be tinged golden in the early afternoon. Radiant Dawn's heart pounding in her ears seemed almost as loud as the iron banging against her sides as she raced down the mountain, trying to remember where she had last seen another forager. The team usually split up and didn't meet back together until sunset, so no one would be missing her yet, but she had to tell somepony of her discovery as soon as possible.

A flash of pink in the undergrowth caught her eye, and the unicorn charged after it. "Birthday Bash!" she neighed.

Out of the bushes popped the curliest pink mane Radiant Dawn thought she had ever laid eyes on, followed by the head of a cream-colored earth pony with green and brown freckles all along his cheeks and back. He spat out the carrots he had been carrying in his mouth. "What is it? Did I forget somepony's birthday? Is today _your_ birthday?"

"No!" panted Radiant Dawn. "Where's Jester? This is important!"

Birthday Bash tapped his chin with his hoof. "He went west of here, I think—down the ridge. Are you sure it's not your birthday?"

Radiant Dawn shook her head. "My birthday's not for another eight moons—but never mind that! I have to speak to Borealis—could you please find Jester and let him know I'm off on urgent business?"

"Sure thing!" Birthday Bash said with a nod, making his curly mane bob. "Golly, I could've sworn today was _somepony's_ birthday…"

"Thanks!" Radiant Dawn said. She galloped all the way back to the fugitives' treetop base, and by the time she reached one of the lifts, her ribs were heaving and she had a painful stitch in her side. Once again she found herself wishing she was a pegasus pony—they seemed to have it so easy when it came to mobility.

But it was worth it, she thought as she levitated Early Light's journal out of her saddlebag. All of this had been worth it. They had to listen to her now.

"Borealis!" she called out when she found the pegasus mare.

Borealis had been speaking with several of the other older ponies, and they all turned to look at Radiant Dawn with a bit of irritation at being interrupted. "Yes," Borealis said, "what is it _now?_ " Her tone made it clear that she was not prepared to take the young unicorn seriously.

Radiant Dawn didn't care. Clopping over to Borealis, she held the book in front of the pegasus pony's face. "We can beat Tanith. In fact, we may be the only ponies who _can_ beat Tanith—and that's why she tried to imprison us."

"What…" Borealis reached out and took the book from Radiant Dawn.

"Careful, it's old," the unicorn said.

Borealis nodded as she gingerly leafed through the pages. "What is this…"

"King Early Light's journal," Radiant Dawn said. "The most important stuff is in the back." She didn't want to wait for Borealis to read it, so she said, "A lamia's weakness is happiness—it's the key to defeating them. Tanith has been trying to get rid of every pony whose special talent has to do with making other ponies happy, because that weakens her."

An orange unicorn sitting nearby shook his wild green-and-purple mane. "Seriously? That sounds pretty outlandish."

Radiant Dawn glanced over at him. "Jester, has anypony else done anything that's worked? It sounds weird, but all lines of evidence point to it." She looked back to Borealis. "We can free Daybreak, I know we can!"

The pegasus pony studied the last few pages of Early Light's writing, then closed the book with a sigh and handed it back to Radiant Dawn. "I just… I don't… The odds are stacked against us, and it's a risk I'm not willing to take. I must keep these ponies safe. Please understand, Miss Dawn. It's better this way."

Radiant Dawn felt like she was going to cry. After all of this, nothing she would ever say or do could convince these ponies to rally and fight.

But _she_ would fight. "Thank you for your hospitality, Borealis." she said, putting the journal back in her saddlebag. With a determined frown, the unicorn walked toward the bridge that led to the food storage platform.

"Don't do anything rash," Borealis called after her in a mix of exasperation and worry.

"We'll see," Radiant Dawn grumbled under her breath. It was too late in the day now to make the trip back to Daybreak before nightfall. She would have to wait until tomorrow.

It felt like the longest wait of her life. The hours seemed to stretch on as she helped organize the food and ate dinner, and laughed at everypony's jokes and tried her hardest to pretend like everything was normal. A few times she was questioned by curious ponies who wanted to see Early Light's journal – evidently news about her discovery had traveled quickly – but Radiant Dawn dismissed them, letting them know that she had put the journal somewhere secure for safe keeping. Mostly, she was tired of the disappointment of trying and failing to get ponies to go along with her outlandish ideas. This would have to be her battle, and hers alone.

She excused herself from dinner early, claiming she was too tired and needed extra rest that night. As she clopped across a bridge and the sounds of socializing ponies faded, she heaved a sigh. Maybe getting out of here alone would be easier than she thought.

"Ray?"

Moondog's voice made the unicorn stop on the next platform, and her ears turned back slightly, although she tried to keep her emotions in check. Perhaps they weren't going to question her—she thought she had sounded convincing enough after dinner. She bit her lip and turned around.

The pegasus twins flapped toward her, while Scooper Duper made his way across the bridge. "Are you feelin' okay?" he asked.

"We're worried about you," Sundance added. "You never go to bed this early. What's wrong?"

Radiant Dawn searched their faces. She had told herself she could not trust anypony to go along with her plans. But these ponies were the three closest to her during her time in the mountains. She felt that she had to at least give them a chance.

She took a deep breath. "I need a good night's rest, because—I'm leaving tomorrow to fight Tanith." An odd expression crossed the others' muzzles, one that Radiant Dawn couldn't quite place, but she continued. "King Early Light figured out her weakness. She's beatable, and I want to see her reign ended. For everypony's sake. For my foals."

For a moment, everyone was silent. Then Sundance said, "Oh Ray," in such a tone that Radiant Dawn recognized the looks on their faces. It was pity. "I know you're still sad about leaving Daybreak," the orange pegasus said, "but it's time to wake up to reality now."

Radiant Dawn frowned. "King Early Light's journal is real enough."

"Yeah, and he failed, remember?" Moondog said, folding his forelegs in midair. "Don't throw your life away like this."

Scooper Duper put a hoof on Radiant Dawn's shoulder. "Ray, I'm sorry," he said, "but please try to understand. We're your friends, and we care—"

Radiant Dawn jerked back, nostrils flaring. "You are _not_ my friends!" she whinnied. "My real friends wouldn't treat me like an idiot!" She stamped her front hooves on the platform, sending a shudder through the wood.

"Hey, calm down!" Moondog said, swooping between the unicorn and the earth pony. "He was just trying to help!"

"But you're not helping!" Radiant Dawn said. "Don't you get it? You don't care at all about my feelings or my goals! You're just trying to impose on me your idea of how the world works! And when I do anything contrary, you act like I'm some bumbling foal!"

Sundance slammed down hard on the platform with all four hooves and scowled. "We're trying to protect you from yourself, Radiant Dawn! You need to get these crazy ideas out of your head!"

"I don't want to be protected from myself!" Radiant Dawn neighed. "I want to save Daybreak! If that makes me crazy, then fine, I'm crazy! But at least I'll be crazy in a free kingdom where you're reunited with your families!"

Not giving them time to respond, she turned, flicking her tail in irritation. "This isn't about me," she said in a low voice. "It never has been. I'm trying to make things right for everypony, and I'm sorry if that goes against everything you thought your lives would be. I guess I'm not as much like you as you wanted to think."

"Ray, listen to yourself!" Sundance said, eyes wide with worry. "Why are you doing this?"

"I thought I made that clear," Radiant Dawn said, tossing her mane. "I'm tired of living out a safe, but meaningless existence out here in the wilds, while thousands of ponies are oppressed and I know how to save them. If you want to go on thinking I'm a madmare, that's fine with me. I don't care either way. But I'm no selfish coward, and I'm going to trust my gut and do what nopony else here has had the nerve to. Good night."

Moondog spread his wings and charged at her. "Ray—"

She clenched her jaw, and a shimmering wall of magic appeared in front of her. Moondog hit it and bounced away, tumbling onto the wood. "I'm sorry we couldn't be friends," Radiant Dawn said as she turned back to where the sleeping platforms were located. "But at least don't get in my way while I'm doing what I need to do."

"You know what—fine!" Sundance shouted as she helped Moondog to his hooves. "Fine! If you want to go waste everything we gave you here, go ahead! Maybe we should've let the timberwolves get you!"

Radiant Dawn grimaced as she marched away, but she didn't give them even a backward glance. It tugged at her heart to know that they were upset with her, but she was going to do the right thing, no matter how many ponies disagreed with her. And she refused to let their lack of confidence cause her to doubt. She had had enough of sitting around being worried and confused.

As she reached her platform and curled up on her bed, Early Light's story kept running in her head, over and over. Although the pegasus king's tale had not ended well, Radiant Dawn admired his tenacity. In the end he had made one final push, and at least he had gone down fighting for what mattered most to him.

She would do the same thing. Whatever came of her tomorrow, she would be prouder of herself for not shrinking away from helping ponies who needed her. And she did think she could succeed. Even if nopony else believed in her, she believed in herself, and that made all the difference.

She fell asleep thinking of the foals in her class, and dreamed of them running under the sun of a smog-less sky.


	6. Chapter 6

Because she had gotten to bed early, Radiant Dawn also woke up early—the sky was still gray and the torches smoldered like they had only recently gone out. She wasted no time in packing her saddlebags with food and putting on her timberwolf-repelling gear.

At first she worried that the clanking would alert other ponies to her leaving, but then she decided she didn't care if they knew. It wasn't like anypony would dare to stop her.

She felt a pang of guilt at leaving Sundance, Moondog, and Scooper Duper on less-than-great terms, but she planned to apologize to them at the nearest possible opportunity. Right now, though, she had to act. There would be time enough to sort out everything else once Tanith was gone and the fugitive ponies could finally go back to their loved ones.

On the other side of one of the bridges stood Jester, stacking barrels of water. "Where are you going?" he asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I'm going to fight Tanith," Radiant Dawn said as she clopped past him, not looking back. "Tell everypony—I hope they find their own happiness. But I'm off to find mine."

"Are you serious?" Jester asked. "Borealis isn't going to be happy about that."

"That's too bad," Radiant Dawn said.

The earth pony cut her off, blocking the bridge to the nearest lift. "Moondog and Sundance told us all about the argument they had with you last night. Borealis doesn't want you to leave. She thinks if Tanith gets a hold of you, she'll make you tell her how you survived in the mountains. You'll give us away."

Radiant Dawn snorted. "Then Borealis doesn't know me well at all, does she? After today, nopony will ever have to worry about Tanith again, and at any rate I wouldn't betray anypony like that.

Jester frowned. "Don't go! You're putting everypony in jeopardy!"

"The only pony in jeopardy here is myself," Radiant Dawn said. "I'm telling you, I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't in everypony's best interests." She sighed. "Oh, who am I kidding. You all think I'm insane, I don't know why I'm explaining anything to you. Please move."

The earth pony shook his head and dug his hooves into the wood. "Honestly, nopony thought you'd actually have the audacity to try to leave, but—"

"Again with that?" Radiant Dawn glared at him. "I don't know why everypony keeps mistaking me for a weak and spineless mare! Is it because I'm too quiet and nice? Maybe I should start being more obnoxious!"

Summoning her magic, she enveloped Jester in a shimmering aura and concentrated. Generally, levitation was directly proportional to a unicorn's physical strength—they could easily lift things that they could move with their own hooves, but levitating large and heavy objects required a considerable amount of strength and skill.

Jester thrashed about, kicking his hooves to try to get the magic off of him. "Help! Anypony! She's trying to leave!"

Radiant Dawn jerked her head, trying her hardest to will her magic to move him, but she was untrained. No unicorn in Daybreak was allowed to learn any spells except the magic that kept the factories running, so the only magic Radiant Dawn knew was things she had figured out on her own. "I don't know why I've made such a poor impression on all of you," she grunted, "but you're wrong!"

Finally, her magical stamina gave out and the aura around Jester dissipated. Radiant Dawn grimaced and slumped. Although Jester looked shaken, he stood his ground, eying the unicorn warily.

"Please…" Radiant Dawn said. "You've got to be tired of living like this. It's so… hopeless. Don't you want to believe things can get better, no matter how impossible it might sound? Isn't there anypony in Daybreak you'd help if you had the slightest chance?"

The earth pony's expression softened and he took a deep breath. "My wife and foals… it's been fourteen years." Swallowing hard, he lowered his head, his ears drooping. "I told myself I would never see them again… I think the day I finally convinced myself of that, something inside of me died."

"I'm sorry," Radiant Dawn said. "I really am. That's why I need to put an end to all of this. I need to make things right again."

For a long moment, Jester stared at his hooves. Finally, slowly, he stepped aside. "I… don't really know if your crazy theories are right," he said, "but I don't think you'll betray us, whatever Borealis says."

Radiant Dawn's heart leaped, and she lunged for the bridge. "Thank you!" she said. "You won't regret this, I swear it!" Even if she had convinced just one pony to have barely enough faith in her to not think she was totally insane, she felt like it was a major victory. Her path to Tanith was clear.

"I don't know if there's any good fortune left in this world," Jester said as Radiant Dawn crossed the bridge, "but I hope it all comes your way today. You'll need it."

"Thank you," Radiant Dawn said again, pausing on the other side. "Tell Borealis not to give up. She's a strong mare—she shouldn't let one defeat define her. Daybreak needs her, too." She paused. "It needs all of you."

With that, she turned and hopped onto the lift, magically turning the crank to lower herself to the forest floor.

The woods were dyed with the pale gray light that comes before sunrise, and mist played around the trees that Radiant Dawn had called home for the past month. Now it was time to return to her real home. She smiled. Her apartment had probably been rented out to somepony else, but establishing a new place to live would be a small task compared to saving the kingdom. One had to put their priorities in order, after all.

After she had walked a while, the first golden rays of the sun began to touch the treetops and the chill air started to warm. Birds chirped in the trees as the unicorn made her way over terrain that gently sloped downhill as she wound her way through vales between soaring mountains. By the time she reached the foothills and took a break for lunch, the sun was high and a brisk breeze made the pines whisper secrets to one another.

Radiant Dawn looked up. Already the sky had grown dimmer and browner. Soon she would be back under the umbrella of smog that kept the sun out of Daybreak. After breathing in the clean, fresh air of the mountains for so long, the air down here was starting to smell foul, and she wrinkled her muzzle.

Suddenly, a shadow flew over the sun. "Radiant Dawn!" somepony said from above.

Down swooped Sundance and Moondog, and they landed in front of Radiant Dawn. She took a half-step back and gaped at them. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"We're coming with you," Sundance said. "So don't chew us out about that, too, okay?"

The unicorn's ears drooped. "I'm so sorry I snapped at you last night. I should have watched my temper better."

"We forgive you," Moondog said. "We thought about it, and… we can kinda see where you're coming from. We should have listened to you better. We're sorry, too."

He and Sundance landed on either side of Radiant Dawn. "And we thought about what you were saying," Sundance said. "I think you're right, Ray—can we still call you Ray?"

The unicorn nodded. "Thank you… for giving me a second chance."

"Sorry for what I said about the timberwolves," Sundance added, pawing at the ground with one hoof. "Anyway—you're right. Ever since we left Daybreak we've just been hiding from our problems, trying to pretend like there was no way to help everypony else—because it was more convenient not to look for a way."

Moondog nodded. "And you were the only one who fought that mindset, even when we all turned against you. When you believe in something that strongly… it's only fair that it deserves a closer look. And we realized the only thing holding us back was our own cowardice."

"Well—thank you," Radiant Dawn said. "But I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend any of you. You've done some amazing things out here, and you've showed a great deal of strength being able to survive for so long. I just think… you were limiting yourselves and refusing to look at other options."

"We were," Sundance said. "We own up to that now. I'm tired of being mediocre—I want to save our mom and dad and kick Tanith's sorry tail!"

The jangling of metal announced a wingless pony's arrival, and Radiant Dawn turned to see Scooper Duper trotting toward them. "Wait for me, y'all!" he shouted. "You know I can't run as fast with all this stuff on!"

Radiant Dawn smiled. "Thanks for coming, Scooper Duper. I'm really sorry I upset you last night."

"Don't worry about it none," he said. "I'm glad you stood up for yourself like that. I don't s'pose we could still be friends, could we?"

"Of course we can," Radiant Dawn said. "Thank you. I'm so glad I have friends who believe in me."

Sundance did a flip. "Now let's get going! While the sun still shines, c'mon!"

Moondog yawned. "I'd feel better if we were going at night… but I understand that's not up everypony's alley."

"But what about Borealis?" Radiant Dawn asked as they began to walk and fly again. "Jester said she didn't want me leaving. How'd you get past her?"

Moondog shrugged in midair. "We didn't have any problem leaving. Borealis looked like she was in a meeting with the team leaders. Not sure about what, though."

"We're not lettin' you go off to fight by yourself," Scooper Duper said. "We care about you, Ray, and it's time we did a better job of showin' it. We'll look out for you."

"I appreciate that," Radiant Dawn said. "I have to confess—I'm not much of a fighter at all. I can throw a little bit of magic, but that's about it."

"Just leave that to us!" Sundance said. "We've had plenty of experience fending off timberwolves—I think we could handle some serpents no problem! All we have to do is stay happy, right?"

Radiant Dawn nodded. "It's got to work!" Of course, she was not a hundred percent sure that it would, but it was better than nothing, and it was certainly worth a try.

"Too bad there are only four of us," Moondog said. "Those numbers aren't very impressive against an army of magic snakes."

Radiant Dawn grinned at her three friends. "What we lack in numbers, we'll more than make up for in grit, that's for sure."

The trees eventually thinned, giving way to thick gray monoliths of apartment blocks and factories that belched out smoke. After being away from the sight for so long, it almost seemed like a dream, and not an entirely pleasant one. Radiant Dawn was determined to change that.

"Yuck," Sundance said, gagging as Radiant Dawn and Scooper Duper took off their timberwolf-repelling gear. "It looks and smells even worse than I remember."

"I guess you don't really notice how bad it is until you find something better," Radiant Dawn said. She set her iron bells on the ground with a clank and pawed the dirt with one hoof. "All right… this is it. Remember, we're going straight to the castle. Don't let anypony stop you, and don't look any serpents in the eye. And whatever you do, stay positive."

"Wait for us!" shouted a familiar voice from behind them.

Radiant Dawn turned and her eyes widened. Out of the forest emerged not only Borealis, but all of the other fugitive ponies, armed with a miscellany of tools.

Borealis landed on the ground and looked up at the dreary cityscape before turning her icy gaze to the young unicorn. "It's time for us to stop pretending like this is all we'll ever be. You've found new hope for us… and we're going to act on it."

"For everypony we left behind," Jester, who stood next to her, said.

"And I want to figure out whose birthday it is," Birthday Bash said, frowning in concentration.

Radiant Dawn's ears perked up. "Everypony—all this time you've thought your talents were useless, but they're really just the opposite! Your talents are so valuable and wonderful—they're what make you strong against the darkness!"

"Thank you, Radiant Dawn," Borealis said. "Now let's not waste another minute!" She spread her wings and took to the air, shedding a misty curtain of glowing red and green over the other ponies, who looked up at it in amazement.

With a nod, Radiant Dawn led the charge of her small army into the city. Scarcely had they stepped onto the streets when three large serpents slithered their way, hissing. Some of the ponies backed away in fright, looking doubtful.

"Stay positive!" Borealis shouted from above. "You can beat them! Tanith knows you can—that's why she tried to turn you to stone! Show her you're not to be messed with!" Swooping down, she dashed over the serpents' heads in a bright ribbon of aurora. The snakes reeled back, swaying in the air and blinking their yellow eyes.

Sundance and Moondog followed suit, zooming around the serpents with their own trails of light and then sending them flying with a few well-aimed kicks. In the air, the snakes suddenly twisted into wisps of black vapor that streamed through the air, apparently going back to Tanith.

"To the castle!" Radiant Dawn neighed, breaking into a gallop. The ponies thundered down the streets, turning heads—both of ponies and serpents.

Another black snake swerved into their path. Raising its head to pony eye level, it glared hard, right at Jester.

"H-help!" he whinnied as his hooves began to turn to stone.

Radiant Dawn turned to see Cotterpin levitate a wrench out of her saddlebag and throw it at the serpent. The tool hit the thing square in the head, and it wobbled and collapsed before turning into black smoke.

"I'm still—it's got me—" Jester's eyes were wide and his ears low as the stone started to work its way up his legs.

"Happiness should weaken it," Radiant Dawn said, glancing around at the other ponies, both fugitives and ponies on the street who watched nervously. Would Early Light's information really work?

"How?!" Jester asked, watching his cutie mark get overtaken by cold gray rock.

Radiant Dawn screwed her eyes shut. "Maybe—think of something happy, anything!" Her horn began to glow and the tip lit up like a star in the gloom. "Think of telling jokes and making other ponies laugh—think of seeing your family again!"

"O-okay—" The earth pony was breathing hard as the stone covered his tail, but he gritted his teeth and focused.

Suddenly the rock cracked and crumbled like dry mud. Jester gave a mighty shake that sent stone chips flying, and he kicked back with his hind legs. "It worked!"

Ponies cheered, and Radiant Dawn's horn shone brighter. Early Light was right. "Keep going!" she shouted. "The serpents can't petrify you if you think happy thoughts!" She gave a nod to the citizens of Tanith's rule who were clopping their hooves in applause. "Join in. We're going to free Daybreak."

"But what can we do?" somepony asked.

"Put a smile on your face," Radiant Dawn said.

They pressed deeper into the city, where more serpents rose to apprehend them, but Tanith's snakes were simply no match for the ponies anymore. Their petrification didn't work when the ponies focused on happier things, and the serpents were quickly overwhelmed by unicorn magic, pegasus combat prowess, and earth pony fortitude.

They reached the school where Radiant Dawn used to teach, and the unicorn saw foals and teachers watching with their noses pressed to the windows. She scanned them for the faces of her own students, and saw them mixed in with other classes. She dipped her glowing horn to them. They were young, and she would not ask them to fight. She would protect them.

The doors to the school burst open. "Miss Dawn!" Sirocco zoomed to the front of the herd and fluttered in front of her teacher. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to bring back the sun," Radiant Dawn said.

"Then I'm coming, too!" Sirocco said.

Her teacher shook her head. "It's too dangerous for foals. Just wait here, okay?"

Sirocco frowned and pointed her hoof back at the crowd. "But Euclid's coming—and everypony else, too!"

Radiant Dawn looked over her shoulder and saw that the unicorn had joined the march with a look of steely determination. And other foals were trickling out of the school, despite the teachers' attempts to stop them.

Radiant Dawn looked back at Sirocco and nodded. "Okay. But I need you to remember everything I taught you about staying positive and looking for the good. Can you tell the others that, too?"

Sirocco nodded. "You bet!" In a flurry of hot wind, she took off for the back of the throng.

Soon, Daybreak Castle loomed in front of them. The enormous palace complex looked like it had once been a beautiful building, with soaring turrets, large windows, and sprawling terraces, but a pall of darkness now seemed to hang over the whole thing. Long ago it must have been filled with light and life, but the only inhabitants now were Tanith and her serpents. No ponies were allowed inside.

Radiant Dawn, however, had stopped caring about Tanith's rules. "Let us in," she said to the guards at the gate. "We have important business with the queen."

The guards, two burly earth ponies, glanced at each other and then back to the slim unicorn whose horn shone like a miniature sun. "The queen sees nopony," one of them said.

"I'm trying to help your families," Radiant Dawn said. "Please let us in. I won't mince words—we've found a way to defeat Tanith."

Now the guards looked genuinely unsettled. "You do know we're supposed to arrest you now, right?" the other guard said. "Sedition, and all that?" He looked up at the small army of ponies gathered behind this strange mare, and did a double-take. "Wait—Scooper Duper?!"

The mint-green earth pony dashed out from the crowd. "Aegis! You were just a colt when I left!"

Aegis dropped his spear to wrap a hoof around Scooper Duper in a fierce hug, which the fugitive returned. "Big brother—they told me you'd been taken away and petrified!" He looked at the other guard. "We can't go on like this."

The other stallion regarded the brothers for a moment, and then nodded. "You have our aid, miss," he said to Radiant Dawn. He and Aegis turned to the gate and pressed their heads against one of the massive doors, pushing it open.

Radiant Dawn thought perhaps she should have been scared or wary, but those emotions just didn't seem to want to come. She knew she was doing what she was supposed to do. She had been born for this moment, and all she could feel was a sense of peace. Horn shining brightly, she stepped over the threshold.


	7. Chapter 7

"Stay on your guard!" Borealis called from above as the army of ponies marched across the expansive courtyard and to the palace steps. "This place will be crawling with serpents! At least, it was last time…" she added under her breath.

"But they can't petrify us!" Sundance said as she banked closer to the purple pegasus.

"They can still bite and constrict," Borealis said. "And there are far more of them than there are of us. It won't be an easy fight."

Moondog pumped his wings to gain altitude. "If we cared about it being easy," he said, "we wouldn't have come."

The doors of the palace were tall and heavy, but it was nothing that the ponies couldn't handle. With shouts of effort, they pushed the doors aside, sending a shaft of light into the gloom beyond.

Radiant Dawn raised her horn high. "Let's find Tanith and get our kingdom back!" Rearing up on her hind legs, she leaped through the doorway and charged inside, followed by a legion of shouting ponies.

They were met with a welcome party. Angry hissing filled the entrance hall in a harsh crescendo. Crawling down the walls and across the floor came innumerable black serpents with glowing yellow eyes, and several ponies let out gasps and cries of fear.

"Don't despair!" Radiant Dawn neighed. "That's just what they want! Fight them! We can win this!"

"We're on it!" Moondog said. He and Sundance dove toward the snakes in streaks of blue and orange.

All at once the other ponies rallied, springing into action against their foes. Unicorns fired their magic at the serpents, while earth ponies and pegasus ponies attacked from the floor and the air.

"We've got to get to Tanith!" Radiant Dawn said as she blasted away a serpent.

"Over here!" Two sets of clopping hooves caught up with her—it was the policepony duo who had let her go on the day of her arrest. The policemare tossed her horn at a large staircase on the other side of the hall.

Her partner let out a grunt as he kicked away a serpent. "She's in the throne room, no doubt! Through those doors!"

"Wait for us, Ray!" Sundance said. She and Moondog zoomed toward the unicorn, followed by any other ponies who managed to fight their way past the snakes.

At the top of the stairs was another large pair of doors, and the ponies pushed them open to reveal another enormous room. This one had a vaulted ceiling and tall windows lining the sides—and was also full of serpents.

But that wasn't what concerned Radiant Dawn. At the other end of the long hall, coiled around a throne, was an enormous serpent whose scales shimmered purple in the dim smoggy light. Unlike the snakes that surrounded her, she had arms and hands that ended in wicked claws, and was dressed in elaborate robes and silver jewelry. A hood flared from the back of her head, and her slit-pupiled yellow eyes watched the ponies with a mixture of hatred and amusement.

"What do you think you're doing here?" Queen Tanith hissed. Her black, forked tongue flicked out of her fanged mouth, and her serpents massed around the ponies, watching them as if preparing to strike on the queen's command.

"You've misruled Daybreak long enough," Radiant Dawn said, stepping toward the throne, horn lowered. "We want you to leave."

Tanith laughed. "Do you think I've ever cared about what ponies want? You're just pawns in my grand game." Her eyes narrowed. "And I have no qualms about disssposing of you when you turn difficult."

Radiant Dawn frowned. "Then we'll make you leave by force. You have no right to terrorize ponies, order them around, and take their lives away—take their _happiness_ away."

The queen's expression twitched, and for the slightest instant fear flashed through her eyes. Clenching the arms of the throne, she leaned back against it. "I make the rules here, pony, and I sssay I have every right to do as I please. Your happinessss means nothing to me."

The unicorn continued to advance, despite the serpents eyeing her. A triumphant grin formed on her muzzle. "On the contrary, I think it means a whole lot—because it's your weakness."

Tanith froze, and then she opened her mouth and bared her fangs. "Who told you that?!"

"I just did my research," Radiant Dawn said. "Now, I'll ask you one last time—leave or we'll make you." Her horn glowed even brighter. " _I'll_ make you."

The lamia rose from her throne, rising on her long tail and flexing her claws. "You'll be ssstone before that ever happens!"

The serpents pounced.

Radiant Dawn let out a blinding blast of light from her horn, and it expanded in a bubble that flung the snakes away from her and her allies. In the next breath, they raced toward Tanith.

"Regret will be the last thing you ever know!" Tanith screeched as she dove toward them.

Radiant Dawn didn't care about the lamia's trash talk. She had a job to do. Rising to her hind legs, she shot a blast of magic from her horn that slammed into Tanith.

The queen screamed, bouncing away from her opponent, but her own coils caught her before she hit the floor and she swept in for another strike. Radiant Dawn leaped away and shot a volley of magic that Tanith curled to avoid, but she ended up running into the ribbons of light created by the pegasus ponies.

The lamia's dark tail writhed and lashed out at the ponies, and Radiant Dawn skipped back, answering with more magic, while the earth ponies charged the enormous creature, trying to wear her down while fending off her snakes. As they exchanged blows, they moved out of the throne room, past the chaos of the other ponies fighting serpents, and out onto a wide terrace that overlooked Daybreak.

Radiant Dawn and the other ponies were slowing, but Tanith showed no signs of tiring as she pounced for them, and Radiant Dawn staggered back to avoid the queen's talons. The unicorn called on every last ounce of her magic reserves and shot another blast of magic. It careened off-target and narrowly missed Sundance, who was trying to dive at Tanith.

Radiant Dawn felt a jolt of panic at having nearly harmed her friend—and then a thick black tail slammed into her. She landed with a painful thump on the ancient stonework of the castle, and before she could recover, Tanith coiled around her.

"Ray!" Moondog yelled. He leaped for Tanith, but the lamia swung one scaly arm and knocked him out of the air, sending him flying into the exhausted ponies on the ground. Serpents surrounded them, cutting them off from the two.

It was proving very difficult to remain positive right now, but Radiant Dawn kept hoping that somehow, some way, there would be victory. Struggling to breathe, she poured all of her concentration into her magic—and nothing came. Her horn fizzled and sparked uselessly. All of her strength was spent.

"I'm coming!" Borealis shouted, snapping her wings and banking toward Tanith.

The lamia bared her fangs at the pegasus pony and shot her claws into the air. She grabbed one of Borealis's hooves, yanking the pony down and throwing her into the crowd of ponies fighting serpents that had spilled out onto the terrace.

Tanith laughed haggardly and lifted Radiant Dawn up to her own eye level. "I told you it was ussselessss!" she snarled. "Now, look upon my face and know dessspair!" Her golden eyes widened and filled Radiant Dawn's vision.

The unicorn's hooves began to feel cold. At first she thought it was because Tanith was squeezing her so tightly, but then the numbness started to work its way up her legs. Radiant Dawn looked down, and let out a gasp of horror. Her hooves had turned to stone, and that was rapidly being followed by the rest of her.


	8. Chapter 8

With a vindictive chuckle, Tanith set the pony down, and Radiant Dawn's hooves clattered stiffly against the stone terrace. "Have fun as a ssstatue," Tanith said with a fanged grin. "Your friendsss will join you soon."

Was this it? Radiant Dawn struggled to move, but could only watch as her tail and cutie mark were swallowed up by gray stone. Had all of her hope been in vain? Had she failed everypony? King Early Light said to stay positive, but how could anypony possibly stay positive at this point? Even if she could stop the petrification, what if Tanith was just too powerful of a creature to be worn down by a bunch of ragtag ponies?

"I have to try," she whispered to herself. "I can't give up, not even now!" Closing her eyes tight, she fought to think of anything good, but the only things filling her mind were doubt, fear, and the memory of Tanith's glare burning into Radiant Dawn's soul.

Clearly, closing her eyes wasn't working. Radiant Dawn opened them again. The stone was up to her shoulders now. She was running out of time. Why couldn't she snap out of this?

Suddenly, amid the melee, she saw a familiar mane of curly pink hair, and memories flooded back to her. "B-Birthday Bash!" she whinnied. "Birthday Bash!"

The earth pony kicked away a serpent. "Ray! What's—" Tanith swooped toward him, cutting him off from the unicorn.

The stone worked its way up her neck, but as long as she had her wits about her Radiant Dawn would fight. "Birthday Bash—did you ever remember whose birthday it was today?"

The stallion jumped to avoid Tanith's tail, and then he blinked and a wide grin spread up his muzzle. "Yeah—I remember now! It's _Queen Tanith's_ birthday!"

Tanith recoiled in disgust. "What?! How could you know that?!"

Birthday Bash looked up at her. "Happy birthday!"

"Don't you dare!" Tanith hissed. She slashed at him with her claws, but he danced around her as other ponies attacked her, talking all about the awesome birthday party he would throw her, and asking what kind of cake she liked.

The spectacle was so absurd that, in spite of everything else going on, Radiant Dawn laughed. She remembered all of Birthday Bash's antics, all the jokes Jester told, Sundance's and Moondog's atmospheric displays, and Scooper Duper's ideas for new ice cream flavors. She remembered all the foals she had taught, and the smiles on their muzzles as they knew they had a friend in her. She was a bright spot in the lives of other ponies—she taught them how to be happy.

Her stone flank cracked, and a burst of light in the shape of her cutie mark blasted through, streaming toward Tanith.

"No!" the lamia screamed as the light surrounded her. "Ssstop… being… ssso… _happy!_ You've ruined _everything!_ "

Cracks of light snaked around the rest of the stone surrounding Radiant Dawn, and it crumbled to let the unicorn free. She took a deep breath and turned to face Tanith, horn flaring with magic. "Leave this place!" she neighed. "Daybreak is yours no longer!"

The light around Tanith grew until Radiant Dawn had to close her eyes. When it finally faded, she opened them again to see the queen collapsed on the ground. The lamia let out an unearthly moan as an aura of black vapor engulfed her. The serpents the other ponies were fighting dissipated into dark mist that twined away into the aura, which seeped back into the queen.

"I hate ponies…" Tanith rasped as the citizens of Daybreak surrounded her. "I hate happinessss… don't you sssee how ussselessss it is in the end? How harsh the world is?"

Radiant Dawn shook her head. "No. You've got it all backwards. If everyone kept believing in happiness, the world wouldn't be such a harsh place."

"Jussst a delusion," Tanith muttered. "You'll sssee."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Radiant Dawn, "but I'm not giving up on what I believe, because it's steered me right so far. And we're not listening to your negativity anymore, right, ponies?" Cheers of agreement rose up around her.

Borealis clopped up to the younger mare. "What do we do with her now?" the pegasus asked.

"I'm not quite sure," Radiant Dawn said. "To be honest, I didn't really think this far ahead. I suppose I should have sat down and figured out logistics first…"

Borealis laughed and put a hoof on the unicorn's shoulder. "No, don't worry about it. There are times when you need to act without thinking, and you are excellent at letting your heart guide you."

Radiant Dawn smiled and was about to reply, when a warm light hit their backs. The other ponies gasped and cried out in surprise, pointing at something in the sky, and Tanith growled.

Borealis and Radiant Dawn turned around. Shafts of bright light were piercing through the smog layer, casting spots of illumination on the light-starved kingdom of Daybreak. A particularly large ray beamed on the castle terrace, and ponies basked in its warmth, their eyes shining.

"The sun!" Sirocco shouted. "Miss Radiant Dawn, that's the sun, right?"

"That's right!" Radiant Dawn said. Tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. She had made her dream come true.

Scooper Duper, narrowing his eyes against the brightness, and pointed into the ray. "Something's comin' down! Looks like… a carriage!"

A wave of gasps swept through the ponies and they backed up to make enough room for the descending vehicle, pulled by two armored pegasus ponies. Sitting in the carriage was the most stunning white pony Radiant Dawn had ever seen. Her multicolored mane and tail billowed in the wind, and the sun glinted off of the golden ornamentation she wore. And she had both a horn and a pair of wings.

"Princess Celestia," Radiant Dawn breathed, dropping to a knee and lowering her horn to the supreme ruler of Equestria. Around her, the other ponies did the same. Seeing pictures of the alicorn princess in history books did not quite do justice to the real thing.

"Citizens of Daybreak," Celestia said, "please, accept my apologies. Long have I known of the oppression of your kingdom…" She glanced down at Tanith, who was glowering hatefully up the princess. "But the gloom and despair surrounding this kingdom was an effective shield against my own magic, I'm afraid."

The ponies murmured among themselves, and Radiant Dawn caught snatches of "took her long enough" and "ironic timing".

"However," Celestia said, "when I sensed such a powerful burst of happiness coming from Daybreak, I knew someone else was helping me with the problem." She smiled and turned to Radiant Dawn. "Radiant Dawn, step forward, please."

The unicorn's eyes widened and she stumbled to her feet, nearly tripping over her own hooves. "Y-Your Highness?"

Celestia smiled, and her magenta eyes were full of the most incredible wisdom and love Radiant Dawn could ever imagine. It turned her own expression into a smile as she felt a warmth in her heart.

"You have done very well, Radiant Dawn," Celestia said. "Fighting to spread happiness in a world that stopped believing in it, trusting yourself when nopony else did, and never, ever giving up. You have a noble heart and the makings of a truly great leader—dare I say, a princess."

Radiant Dawn blinked. "What—"

Celestia lowered her horn so the tip touched Radiant Dawn's. Suddenly, a swirl of white light engulfed the unicorn, lifting her into the air. Radiant Dawn tilted her head back and went limp as a new power surged through her. She could feel herself becoming stronger, her magic abilities heightening, and a strange tugging at her back. With a jerk, she flexed muscles she never had before and spread new appendages wide.

The light wisped away and she touched back down on the terrace to see everyone staring at her. Radiant Dawn suddenly felt very self-conscious. "Am I…"

"Miss Dawn!" Sirocco and her other students scrambled toward her. "That was so cool!" the pegasus filly said.

An earth pony stomped her hooves. "You look like Princess Celestia now!"

Radiant Dawn gasped and looked from side to side. Spread out from her back was a pair of large, elegant wings, the feathers sharply tipped like a swan's.

Celestia smiled warmly. "I dub you Princess Radiant Dawn, ruler of the kingdom of Daybreak and Princess of Happiness."

Radiant Dawn took a few halting steps, turning around to feel the difference in strength. "I… thank you, Your Highness. Thank you so much. I just hope I can live up to this gift."

"I know you can," Celestia said. "Daybreak needs you." She glanced back down at the crumpled lamia lying nearby. "And as for you… perhaps a good, long stay in Tartarus will improve your attitude." She narrowed her eyes, her horn beginning to glow.

"Thisss won't ssstop me!" Tanith hissed as Celestia's magic surrounded her. "I'll be back!"

"And when you come back," Radiant Dawn said, "we'll be glad to teach you all about happiness, and just how important it really is."

Tanith laughed. "Good luck with _that_ ," she said as she disappeared.

As the portal closed, Radiant Dawn looked over at Celestia. "She's… she's not right, is she?"

The supreme alicorn smiled. "What is your heart telling you, Radiant Dawn?"

Radiant Dawn paused. "That she says nasty, angry things that aren't true to cover up how much she's hurting and try to make sense of her world. But I can't let her hurt my subjects while she struggles to figure herself out."

Celestia nodded.

"And—what about all the ponies she's turned to stone?" Radiant Dawn asked. "Is there any way to save them?"

The white alicorn smiled. "Indeed there is. Use your magic to free them from their stone prisons. As their petrification was born of despair, so it shall be dispelled with the light of hope and happiness that your magic carries."

Radiant Dawn reared up in excitement. "I'm going to the dungeons right now—"

"Ray!" Sundance and Moondog swooped toward the two alicorns. "This is so awesome!" Sundance said. "Now you can go flying with me and Moondog!"

"Don't worry," Moondog said, "we'll teach you how to use your wings!"

Radiant Dawn lifted her wings and chuckled sheepishly. "I would appreciate that, thank you!" She thought back to all the times she had wished she was a pegasus pony. Now her wishes had been answered in a way more wonderful than she could have hoped.

"Miss Dawn?" Sirocco and the other foals in her class clustered around the newly crowned alicorn. "Will… will you still be our teacher?"

Radiant Dawn looked down at them, and felt a pang of sadness invade all the joy she was experiencing. "I… think I need to do other things now," she said, her ears drooping.

But she was the princess of happiness—she had to find something positive about this. There was no way she was going to let becoming an alicorn, of all things, turn negative. An idea struck her and she grinned. "But you're always welcome in the castle, and just come find me if you ever want help with your lessons!" She put a hoof on Sirocco's shoulder. "After all, I'd only be your teacher for one year, but now I get to be your princess forever!"

"Hey, I never thought of it like that!" another of her pupils said. The foals began talking excitedly amongst each other, discussing how much fun they would have here at the castle now that the icky snakes were gone.

"Miss Dawn?" A slightly older voice made Radiant Dawn turn around. Euclid clopped toward her. "Congratulations on your new alicorn status," the colt said. "But… what about Principal Decorum? You do know she's the one who reported you to the police, right? Everypony's heard about it."

Radiant Dawn stared at him for a moment, surprised that her suspicions were confirmed. Still, she could not find it in her to be angry or bitter at the principal—Decorum clearly had enough struggles as it was without incurring the wrath of an alicorn.

She nodded. "I thought as much. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to replace the staff at that school – and all the schools in Daybreak – with ponies who actually like working with foals. I'll help Principal Decorum and the other faculty find jobs they like better—maybe as dungeon wardens."

She gazed out at the town. Now that factories had stopped churning out smog, the haze was clearing, and more and more sunlight shone through by the moment. "All of these factories are going, too. From now on, ponies are going to have jobs they actually enjoy—and that bring other ponies joy, too." She winked at Scooper Duper.

The earth pony reared up in delight. "Hot dog! I'm gonna open up that ice cream shop I always wanted!"

"I'm first in line!" Aegis said from beside him. "I still remember that chocolate cookie crunch ice cream you whipped up all those years ago!"

Celestia laughed. "Well, it sounds like your rule is off to a good start already, Princess."

Radiant Dawn beamed at her. "Thank you, Your Highness. I sure hope so."

"I don't have to hope anymore," Celestia said. "I _know_."

"I won't let you down, Your Highness," Radiant Dawn said.

As the other ponies began to discuss plans for cleaning up the palace, taking down the factories, and doing everything Tanith had never let them do, Radiant Dawn turned back into the castle, intent on going to the dungeons to give countless petrified ponies their lives back.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted her flank, and the cutie mark that had started all of this a week ago. She stopped and looked back to Princess Celestia. "Your Highness… can I ask you a question?"

"What is it?" Celestia asked.

Radiant Dawn shifted her weight. "Well… I still have no idea what my special talent is. I just got my cutie mark a week ago and I'm not sure why. It showed up when I was defending a foal from somepony's negativity."

Celestia smiled. "You haven't figured it out by now? Your special talent is spreading happiness, Princess Radiant Dawn. You always look on the bright side of things, and you are such a wonderful example and teacher to other ponies, as well. You are their ray of hope."

Radiant Dawn's heart leaped. "That's the best talent I could ask for."

"Then that's why it's yours," Celestia said.

The new alicorn smiled, but then another worry came to mind and she looked down, rubbing one foreleg with her hoof. "If it's not too much trouble, Your Highness… I have another question."

Celestia clopped closer to her. "Yes?"

"This might sound stupid, but…" Radiant Dawn closed her eyes. "Did I do anything wrong? I've been trying my hardest my whole life, but—I'm just so worried that some of what happened might have been my fault." Opening her eyes, she looked up at Celestia pleadingly. "What could I have done better?"

The white alicorn searched Radiant Dawn's face for a moment, and then her eyes creased in a smile. "I wasn't here for everything that happened," she said, using a hoof to lift Radiant Dawn's chin, "but I don't think you did anything wrong. That is what my heart is telling me."

"Then—why did so much go badly?" Radiant Dawn asked. "I was trying to do the right thing—"

Celestia shook her head, still wearing that gentle, calming smile. "Sometimes, Princess Radiant Dawn, the most valiant and pure-hearted ponies are put in situations where their misfortunes are not their doing. It is here where their trial lies—to endure the wrongs done to them with grace and poise, and to show other ponies how to be strong despite everything life throws at them. And you weathered that trial most admirably."

Tears came to Radiant Dawn's eyes. "Thank you… I'm so glad."

"Be at peace about the matter," Celestia said. "You have fought well, and your reward shall be great."

Radiant Dawn wiped away a few tears as she nodded. "Thank you. You've already given me so much—I'll do my very best to live up to all of it."

"You will," Celestia said. "I know you will."

Radiant Dawn grinned with determination. "I won't let you down, Your Highness. And I won't let down any of those ponies in the dungeons, either." She turned to head back inside.

"Hey, everypony!" Birthday Bash said, leaping up on the parapet. "We should throw a huge party to celebrate our victory! It's still Tanith's birthday, after all!"

"That sounds awesome!" Sundance said.

"I'm in!" said Moondog. "I mean, uh, if the princess says it's okay."

Radiant Dawn turned back to them, chuckled, and nodded. "It's definitely okay!"

"Great!" Birthday Bash said, leaping down to twirl around. "Man, I hope all of my descendants like throwing parties as much as I do!"

Radiant Dawn laughed, and so did Celestia. "Your Highness," Radiant Dawn said, "would you like to stay for the festivities?"

"I would love that," Celestia said.

Princess Radiant Dawn grinned. A new sun was rising in Daybreak, and she would make sure it shone forever.


End file.
